For people who are interested in participating in a Clinical Trial that is open at our site, initial contact can be made directly to the Clinical Trials Unit or through your health professional. Discussions can then be had to see if there is a Clinical Trial that would be suitable to participate in. We participate in multi-centre trials and international trails, incuding participation via teletrials. This means it is possible to participate in a clinical trial that is led by a Metro hospital but that you would not be required to travel to receive trial treatment
Referrals directly to the Clinical Trials Unit can be made either through email clinicaltrials@swh.net.au or Phone (03) 5563 4070, on weekdays the referrals will be responded to on the same day.
At present the Clinical Trials Unit at SWH offers Clinical Trials in Oncology including Breast, Bowel, Lung and Pancreatic cancer. We are also in the early stages of supporting clinical trials in disciplines other than cancer. Clinical professionals who wish to participate as Principal Investigators on Clinical Trials should contact us for support.
Our studies come from Pharmaceutical Industry, Cooperative Groups as well as Investigator Initiated Research.
If it is found that there is a Clinical Trial available that you may be able to participate in, a referral to the relevant Specialist will be made, medical history and results will be requested and an appointment will be made. At this appointment an in depth discussion about the trial will occur and you will be able to ask any questions and request any information.
Participation in a Clinical Trial is completely voluntary and at any time during the running of the trial you are able to withdraw consent without any repercussions.
After your appointment if it is deemed that you meet all the criteria for the specific Clinical Trial you will be given a consent form to read at home and discuss with family and or your trusted health professional. You are given as much time as you require to do this. Once your decision to participate in the Clinical Trial is made you then progress on to the next steps of the journey.