If you are interested in taking part in clinical research, you can register here in our database.  We will be in touch when a suitable study is looking for participants.  When we have specific studies looking for participants, you will also be able to see a list of them on our website, with more details about the study.  

Almost anyone can participate in a clinical trial.  Some studies require healthy volunteers, whereas others require individuals with an illness or disease to join research studies. 

Each clinical trial has specific eligibility criteria which are explained in the study protocol.  A protocol is a study plan, and this is carefully designed to safeguard the health of the participants as well as answer specific research questions. A protocol describes what types of people can participate in the trial; the schedule of tests, procedures, medications, and dosages and the length of the study.

There will be pre-screening questions carried out by the EMS Healthcare team which will help us to see if you are potentially eligible for a study. The eligibility criteria for each study have been selected based on factors such as age, gender, medical history, and current health status.  

Because of these specific eligibility criteria, not everyone who applies for a clinical trial will be accepted.

The duration of a clinical trial can vary significantly, as can the number of assessments and clinic visits required. This information will be provided to you in the informed consent documents.

When joining a trial with the EMS Healthcare team, we will require consent from you. The EMS Healthcare team will ensure that you will be fully informed about what the trial is, what is required from you, any potential risks, and how your information will be used. The most important thing is to make sure you have all the details you need so you can make an informed decision before you start.

Healthy volunteers often participate to help others and contribute to the advancement of medicine.  Individuals with an illness or disease often join research studies to possibly receive a new treatment that may or may not be better than those that already exist, and to benefit from additional care and attention from the clinical staff, while helping to improve human health and well-being for generations to come.

As a study participant you can also help others better understand how the treatment works in people of different races and genders because different people may respond differently to the treatment being investigated. Regulatory agencies such as the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) seeks to ensure that people of different ages, races, ethnicities, and genders are included in clinical trials.

Participants should carefully weigh up the risks and benefits and you may wish to seek advice from your doctor before taking part in a trial.

The conduct of clinical trials is subject to strict regulations and ethical guidelines, with the safety of the participants of paramount importance at all times. All of the trials EMS Healthcare run are submitted to and approved by a research ethics committee in the UK.

The specific risks associated with any research protocol are described in detail in the informed consent document, which you are asked to sign before taking part in research. In addition, the major risks of participating in a study will be explained to you by a member of the research team, who will answer your questions about the study. Before deciding to participate, you should carefully weigh these risks. Although you may not receive any direct benefit as a result of participating in a clinical research study, the information collected by your participation may help others.

Trials are closely monitored by medical professionals and regulatory authorities to ensure safety throughout the process. If at any point you wish to withdraw from the trial, you can, of course, do so.

Compensation varies from trial to trial.  If you qualify for one of our research studies, you may be compensated for your time and travel. The amount of compensation (as well as any reasonable expenses) are decided by the sponsor of the study, and approved by an ethics committee, and you will be informed about the amount of compensation and/or expenses during the informed consent process. 

Yes. A participant can leave a clinical trial at any time, and you do not need to give a reason.  When withdrawing from the trial, the participant should let the research team know so that we may retrieve any remaining medication and do an exit visit if possible.

The clinical research team will keep your personal information confidential. Your information will not be shared without your permission, except when required by law.

If you choose to submit your information via the EMS Healthcare website, the proposed use of your personal data is solely to contact you to check if you may be suitable for future clinical trials and to inform you about those clinical trials.  Your consent to share personal data is entirely voluntary and you may withdraw your consent at any time by contacting gdpr@ems-healthcare.com.

If you do consent to take part in a clinical trial at EMS Healthcare, we are required to retain your details. We may need to contact you in the future to inform you of important new information related to your participation in the trial. Once you have been informed and provided any additional consent, your personal data will become part of the clinical trial records, and will be processed and shared in compliance with the applicable laws governing clinical trials.  Full details will be provided before you agree to participate in a trial.

EMS Healthcare run trials in flexible community research clinics, which are located closer to participants' homes.  The research clinics are placed in accessible community locations such as a supermarket or leisure centre car parks, with the aim being to make clinical research easier to access and to reduce the burden of participation.  The exact locations for each study are decided in partnership with the study sponsor, and will be clearly communicated to you as part of the trial information.  

A clinical trial (or study) is conducted in human volunteers to answer specific health questions. They can help scientists understand and develop new ways to prevent, detect, or treat diseases and their symptoms. The investigational treatments may be new drugs, a combination of drugs, new ways to deliver an already marketed drug, a medical device. A study may also be looking at the ways in which disease is detected and diagnosed.  

Before a new medication is approved, it must undergo a series of lengthy and rigorous tests to show it is safe and that it works (known as efficacy). A new medication or medical device must not only be safe and effective, but in many cases it must also demonstrate a superior benefit when compared to currently prescribed treatment.

Depending on the type of product and the stage of its development, healthy volunteers and/or patients enroll into small studies initially, followed by larger scale studies in patients. As positive safety and efficacy data is gathered, more patients are typically involved. Clinical trials can vary in size from a single trial site in one country to large studies involving multiple sites across several countries.

A clinical trial is conducted according to a research plan known as a protocol that has been developed by the pharmaceutical company and reviewed by the MHRA and Ethics Committee representing the public interest. These agencies monitor the progress of these clinical trials.

The protocol determines:
•    The reason for the clinical trial
•    The number of participants
•    The criteria used to determine who is eligible for the clinical trial
•    A schedule for procedures, tests, drugs and dosages
•    The length of the clinical trial
•    What information will be gathered about the participants
•    And much, much more

Clinical trials are led by a principal investigator, who is often a medical doctor, along with a research team made up of doctors, nurses and other health care professionals. 

Investigational products such as medications, devices or procedures are conducted in various clinical trial phases to find different kinds of information.

There are four main phases:
Phase I trials test an experimental drug, vaccine or device in a small group of people (often healthy volunteers) to evaluate safety, identify side effects, determine safe dosages and look at how the investigational product is absorbed and handled by the body. Phase 1 clinical trials generally take several months to complete.

Phase II trials involve larger groups of people than Phase I and they are designed to assess whether an experimental treatment is safe and whether it works in those people with the condition being studied.  These clinical trials are sometimes randomised controlled trials where one group of patients receives the investigational product, while another group (the “control group”) receives a standard treatment or placebo. Placebos are inactive substances. In a clinical trial a placebo, made to look like the investigational treatment, is sometimes used to compare against the actual investigational treatment to evaluate effectiveness. These studies are often “blinded” which means neither the patients nor the researchers know who is receiving the investigational product, in order to provide unbiased comparative information.  Phase 2 clinical trials usually take up to two years to complete.

Phase III trials are usually large studies comparing the experimental drug or vaccine to a placebo or standard treatment, to evaluate whether the drug works and collect information to allow it to be used safely.  These studies can involve thousands of patients with the disease, and the information will be used to determine whether the investigational product should be approved by regulatory authorities and marketed.    These trials are usually randomized and blinded trials that generally takes up to several years (1-4 years) to complete.

Phase IV trials are performed once a drug has reached the market, to provide additional information about the best use of the drug.  These clinical trials involve people in various populations and are generally intended to collect additional information after the investigational product is approved and marketed regarding its risks, benefits and use in various populations over a longer period of time.

Each study is different, but the informed consent process ensures you understand the experimental treatment, device or diagnostic being studied, your role in the trial, potential side effects, and the visits required. In some studies, you may receive an inactive placebo, whereas other studies will not involve medications.
In addition to drug, device or diagnostics being tested, the trial may require that you have further assessments and exams. These will be outlined during the informed consent process.  A protocol is a study plan on which all clinical trials are based. The plan is carefully designed to safeguard the health of the participants as well as answer specific research questions. A protocol describes what types of people can participate in the trial; the schedule of tests, procedures, medications, and dosages; and the length of the study. While in a clinical trial, participants following a protocol are seen regularly by the research staff to monitor their health and to determine the safety and effectiveness of their treatment.

The following process generally occurs during the conduct of a clinical trial:

Pre-Screening

The clinical research group will review their existing patient databases or medical charts to identify potential patients who may be eligible to participate in the clinical research study. They may also place advertisements on the internet, newspaper, radio, or television to recruit interested participants, and may hold in-person events to make people aware of the research study.    

Potential participants from these pre-screening efforts are contacted and briefly interviewed to confirm if they are potentially eligible to participate in the clinical research study.

Informed Consent

If you are potentially eligible to participate in a clinical research study, an appointment will be scheduled for you to come to the clinical research site and meet with one of the research staff members. Before any study related procedures are performed you will be required to sign an informed consent form which details the study design, risks and benefits, your rights as a study participant and who to contact in case of an emergency. During the informed consent process, you will have an opportunity to ask questions you may have regarding the study and your participation. You should receive a copy of the signed informed consent form for your records and future reference.

Screening Visit

Once you agree to participate in the clinical research study and have signed the informed consent form, the study screening procedures will be administered. The purpose of the screening visit is to determine if you meet the specific inclusion and exclusion criteria for the specific clinical research study you agreed to participate in. Generally, during the screening visit you may be asked to answer questions regarding your medical history, medications and other treatments you are taking, and complete questionnaires. A member of the research team may also assess your general health by performing a physical examination, and collect blood/urine samples.

Study Visits (Treatment Visits)

If you meet the specific inclusion and exclusion criteria (which may include a study acceptable laboratory and medical results) for the study you will be asked to return to the clinic for a series of study visits sometimes referred to as Treatment Visits. It is generally during these study visits that a study participant will be receive the investigational product or the comparator product (which sometimes can be a placebo). The number of study visits and the interval in which the visits occur varies from study to study.

End of Study Visit

Once you have reached the end of the treatment visit, an End of Study Visit is conducted. Generally, the same or similar assessments conducted prior to you receiving the investigational product is repeated. The research team will also discuss you follow-up treatment options (which may include receive standard of care treatments for your illness) and if required by the study you may be asked to return to the research site for a follow-up safety visit.

Follow-up Safety Visit

The number of follow-up safety visits and the interval in which the visits occur varies from study to study. The purpose of this visit is to assure you are not experiencing any lingering side-effects from the investigational product or from the overall participation in the study.

People should know as much as possible about the clinical trial and feel comfortable asking the members of the health care team questions about it, the care expected while in a trial, and the cost of the trial. Our research team are available 24/7 to support you if you have any issues or questions during the study.

The following questions might be helpful for the participant to discuss with the health care team. Some of the answers to these questions are found in the informed consent document.  

•    What is the purpose of the study?
•    Who is going to be in the study?
•    Why do researchers believe the new treatment being tested may be effective?
•    Has it been tested before?
•    What kinds of tests and treatments are involved?
•    How do the possible risks, side effects, and the benefits in the study compare with my current treatment?
•    How might this trial affect my daily life?
•    How long will the trial last?
•    Will hospitalisation be required?
•    Will I be reimbursed for other expenses?
•    What type of long-term follow up care is part of this study?
•    How will I know that the treatment is working?
•    Will results of the trials be provided to me?
•    Who will be in charge of my care?