For patients coming to our Clinical Research Facility

The CRF is a day care facility, with ten single rooms, our rooms are light and airy and we aim to make our families visits as comfortable as possible. We also have beds for parent/carers to stay with their child where needed.

As well as our dedicated team of nurses we have a team of data managers, laboratory technicians and administrators who help us to keep things running smoothly in the CRF. We have patients of all ages up to 16 coming from all over the country (and sometimes the world) to take part in the studies we facilitate in the CRF.

We have all sorts of clinical studies taking place in the CRF from phase 1 which looks at drug side effects and calculates what the right dose might be, to phase 3 which test medicines in larger groups of people who are ill, and compare a new medicine against an existing treatment or a placebo to see if it works better in practice and if it has important side effects.

This means that we can be giving a drug for the first time to the first person in the world or we can be giving a licensed drug to patients to treat a condition that it is not normally used for. Some of our other studies are very simple and the research team want to see how a disease affects a patient as they grow and develop, these types of studies are especially important for the study of rare diseases .

Before you take part in a clinical study you need to read an information sheet that tells you all about what is going to happen while you are on the study. Once you have done this we can go through the consent process with you and your family, and as long as you all agree to take part in the study we will ask you to sign an assent form and your mum or dad to sign a consent form.

Once you agree to take part the research can begin! Depending on what your study requires we will book you in for visits to the CRF where you may need anything from a simple height and weight to a more complex administration of clinical study medication. Our team of nurses will look after you from start to finish.

Taking part in research is an important way that you can help others learn about disease and help shape the way we care for people with all sorts of diseases and illnesses in the future.

The play specialist’s role is to support patients and families through their time in the Clinical Research Facility. They work closely with nurses, psychologists, doctors, physiotherapists and many more people within the team to help ensure that patients and families have the most positive experience possible.

Play specialists use play to help children and young people prepare for procedures, and work with them to develop coping strategies for medical procedures. Play is also used to help children feel relaxed as well as have an enjoyable time doing activities, such as games, arts and crafts, iPads or stories.

Find out more about the GOSH play team.