Frequently Asked Questions

As part of the confirmation process, we will contact your GP for more information about your medical history. We also ensure that they have no concerns about your well-being if you take part in the trial. There can be a small delay in receiving the information from a GP but we will keep you updated as to its progress. Once we have the results of all your tests and your GP report, we will let you know if you are suitable for the trial. One of our team will contact you to re-confirm the dates and times you need to be at our clinical unit.

Yes. Before you attend your screening visit, you will receive an email from our recruitment team with the Participant Information Sheet (PIS) attached. Please ensure you read it thoroughly before you come in for screening as it includes all relevant information available about taking part in the trial. If there is anything within the PIS you are unsure about or would like more information on, please ensure you ask one of our doctors at your screening visit or contact the recruitment team prior to attendance. You should receive the PIS at least one working day before you attend screening, however if you do not please contact the recruitment team on 0330 303 5000.

Additional information:

• A full screening visit can typically take up to 4 hours
• Always remember to read your PIS fully before coming and be mindful of all restrictions outlined to avoid failing your screening unnecessarily
• As the screening appointment starts with a group information session, it is important you arrive on time. We may not be able to continue with your screening if you arrive late
• Contraception – we will have told you if there are specific contraception requirements that should be in place before you attend for a screening. These may need to continue during and post-trial. In most cases, it is important that you and your partner are using two suitable methods of contraception whilst you the study and for a period of time afterwards. If this is not in place prior to your screening appointment, you may not be allowed to participate in the trial
• Avoid poppy seeds 48 hours before the screening as they can make you test positive for certain drugs of abuse
• Do not drink alcohol at least 48 hours before screening – this can sometimes be longer so always refer to your PIS
• Avoid exercising 72 hours before screening – physical activity can influence out-of-range blood test results, blood pressure and ECG results
• Avoid caffeinated drinks before your screening visit, as they can also influence your test results
• Some screening visits need you to have fasted for a period of time before you attend – the recruitment team will tell you about this when they book your appointment
• Ladies are advised not to wear dresses for the screening appointment as this can make it difficult to have an ECG test.

If any of the results of your test are of concern to our doctors, this will be followed up directly with you. If you are not suitable for the study you were interested in, it is usually because you do not fit the criteria for that particular trial. Don’t worry, there are generally other trials that we can offer you straight away. Not all volunteers invited into clinic at the start of the trial will be dosed. You may be a reserve volunteer (alternate), as we need to ensure the trial is completed on time. We usually invite additional volunteers on standby in case of illness or non-attendance. In each case, the medical staff make the final decision on who will or will not be dosed, impartially and based on medical assessment and all reserve volunteers are reimbursed for their time and inconvenience. Once the trial has started, you are still free to leave the trial at any point, without giving a reason. However, you will only be paid for the days you completed.

We have free car parking available where you can leave your car for the duration of your stay. Please note that we accept no responsibility for loss or damage to your vehicle.

You are welcome to bring devices with cameras into the clinic but please don’t take photographs of staff or other volunteers without their permission.

Yes – although there may be times during some studies when they can’t be used or use is restricted in certain areas, as in a hospital.

Unfortunately, we can’t accommodate visitors in the clinic. You are welcome to Skype/Facetime friends or family.

Yes. We have our own on-site catering and all meals are freshly prepared daily. You are not permitted to bring your own food into the unit. There are restrictions on what you can eat and drink on some trials, or there may be a specific diet that you have to follow during the trial. In all cases, volunteers are not allowed to share their food with others during their stay in clinic.

We have a dedicated Volunteer Liaison Officer who runs a programme of entertainment in the clinic, including weekly bingo and quiz sessions. There are books, games, daily newspapers, magazines, Xboxes, Sky TV,DVDs and pool tables in the unit. Any games or films you bring in should be suitable for general viewing and not cause offence to others. Feel free to bring your laptop or tablet with you; we also have free Wi-Fi in the clinic.

Not on your own. If it is a long stay and the clinical trial sponsor allows it, we try to arrange walks around the country park or other activities. You would always have staff members with you to ensure your safety. If you decide to leave the unit during a residential stay without prior agreement, you will be withdrawing yourself from the trial.

• Clothes for your stay – although we do provide a clean polo shirt every day that you must wear, you will need to bring all other clothes with you
• Sensible nightwear - no night dresses or night gowns
• Comfortable footwear – for health and safety reasons, you must have something on your feet at all times whilst in the clinic
• Washing essentials (soap/shower gel, toothbrush, toothpaste etc.) – no mouthwash though as it may contain alcohol that can affect the results from the trial
• Towels
• Some volunteers bring their own pillow with them 
• Anything you might want to do whilst you are in the clinic e.g. laptop, books, iPad, earphones, and college work.

When you are packing your things to come on to a trial, please take a moment to check the size of your bag. We have very limited storage space for bags in the clinic and cannot accommodate any bags larger than a standard cabin flight case. When you are in the clinic your bag must be stored safely with no trailing straps etc. Safe storage of your bag is your responsibility.

We will tell you in advance what time you need to come in and other relevant information, such as if you need to fast beforehand. We normally ask that you come in the day or the evening before you will be dosed with the test medicine. We will take you to your ward and show you to your bed and where everything is. Once all the volunteers have arrived, one of the nurses will talk to you all and answer any questions. There are often more medical tests to confirm you are still okay to take part before you can be given the test medicine.

We treat your personal information with care and we respect your privacy at all times. Any personal information which can readily identify you is kept on site and access to it is restricted. When the study results are sent off site or published we use a code number rather than your name to help protect your identity. You can find out more about how we handle your data in our Privacy Notice and we’ll give you further details about any study you are interested in before you take part in it.

Registering your interest in a trial does not mean you have to complete the whole process. You can change your mind about taking part in a trial at any time, even once it has started.

The majority of our volunteers do not experience any side effects. However, if they do, the most common side effects are feeling sick, dizziness and headaches. We will monitor you closely throughout the trial and if you do experience any side effects, we will take appropriate action to look after you.

Possibly. All medicines can have side effects, even those already available. Sometimes volunteers do experience these, but we have doctors and nurses on site who constantly monitor any reaction to make sure you are safe at all times. We always share any information we may have about potential side effects with you before you decide to take part in the trial, but it is possible that any test medicine may have side effects that are not yet known.

Before treatments can be tested on people, they will already have undergone extensive investigations in a laboratory for many years. If the results from this testing is positive, the next step is to seek approval for a trial to begin in healthy volunteers. An independent ethics committee looks at all aspects of a new trial and will act to safeguard the rights, safety and well-being of volunteers who wish to take part.

We have been doing clinical trials with both healthy volunteers and patients for 30 years and we are very proud of our safety record.

Your trial may involve follow up appointments or phone calls that will happen after you have completed your residential stay in clinic and you will be aware of this before you take part in the trial. Once these appointments are completed, most payments will be in your bank account via electronic transfer (BACS) within 21 days. We are unable to provide cash payment but can issue cheque payments if required.

We pay you a travel allowance for each visit you make to us. The amount is fixed and is calculated based on the distance travelled from your home address to our clinic which is paid directly into your bank.

If you are claiming benefits you should check with your benefits office whether any payments you receive from taking part in a clinical trial will affect your payments.

Depending on your personal circumstances, part of this payment may be taxable if it exceeds the allowance threshold set by HMRC. Participants are reminded that they are responsible for their own tax affairs.

It is a legal requirement for volunteers to have a gap of at least three months before participating in another clinical trial. We call this three month gap your ‘Wash out period’. There is a central UK database (TOPS) that collects participation records and we have to check against this record before we can accept you onto another trial. During this three month period, we will not send you any emails regarding future trials but will begin sending them again once this period is over.

When you leave the clinic, you will be given a trial participation card that includes contact information for a doctor at Quotient. It is important you keep this information to hand and do not hesitate to contact us should you have any concerns or worries once you get home.

Complaints Procedure for Volunteers We always aim to provide the best possible service to all our volunteers but if you do have a complaint or concerns over the service you have experienced then we would like to know about this. In the first instance we would encourage you to raise your complaint/concern directly with one of our managers at the time the problem occurs. We would always prefer to try to resolve any issues with you at the time. However, if you feel that you are not able to do this or you feel that your complaint/concern cannot be dealt with at this level then please put your complaint in writing to the Director of Volunteer Management.

Please note that all complaints must be received in writing or via email, we cannot take action on complaints raised through social media sites. Please write to us at the following address: Quotient Sciences Ltd, Mere Way, Ruddington, Nottingham, NG11 6JS

To help us deal with your complaint as effectively as possible please include as much detail as you can. Especially useful are dates, times, study reference numbers and the names of any staff involved. We will acknowledge receipt of your complaint within two working days of receiving it and will provide you with details of when a full response can be expected, in most cases no more than two weeks from the date of receipt of the complaint.