Our Facilities
The CRF is a comfortable, safe and secure environment where we recruit and monitor patients/volunteers in accordance with Good Clinical Practice, departmental standard operating procedures and Trust policies. The main footprint includes space which has been dedicated to the delivery of vaccine trials in adults and children, adjacent to the main CRF which accommodates staff and facilities for all phases of clinical research. This configuration allows comfortable separation of children and their families. The VI is an independent, non-commercial, academic institution, which is part of SGUL. There is a reception area for patients with seating, and further waiting areas for adults and children. In addition, we have four unisex toilets, with disabled access and two shower rooms for patient use.
Clinic Rooms
We currently have in total 11 treatment and two consultation rooms, including three new rooms, constructed to increase capacity during the Covid-19 pandemic. Each treatment room contains a Patient examination couch or fully reclining chair, a PC, consumables trolley, vital signs machine, desk, 3 chairs and hand-washing facilities. Each room also has an emergency bell with emergency procedures displayed above the phone. The paediatric facilities are flexible with appropriate décor, age-specific toys, movies and playmats for babies.
Onsite Laboratory
The CRF has 2 sample preparation laboratories for immediate processing, storage, and sample despatch.
The first, newly constructed laboratory contains:
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3 temperature-controlled centrifuges (ambient and cold samples)
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-80C Freezer x2 REES alarm
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-20C Freezer x1 REES alarm
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4C-8C Refrigerator x1 REES alarm
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Incubator
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Class 2 Microbiology Safety Cabinet
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Sample preparation/processing space
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Dry Ice Storage
A second laboratory serves the vaccine trials and contains:
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3 Centrifuges
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-80c Freezer
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x3 REES alarm 4C-8C Refrigerator
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x1 REES alarm
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Sample preparation/processing space
Office and storage space
Non-clinical CRF accommodation includes a large, open plan, airy and light office with 37 desk spaces for core staff and visiting PIs and teams, 3 further small offices (with 11 desk spaces), dedicated trial monitors room, file storage room, meeting room, staff room and changing facilities and clinical trial storage facilities for Investigator Site Files and study equipment.
Vaccine Pharmacy
A satellite research pharmacy is located within the CRF, established specifically for vaccine trials, managed by the nursing team and overseen and audited by the research pharmacy team. It is in a separate, temperature controlled, swipe access room. This enables trials vaccine storage for immediate use and home visits and contains two temperature controlled, continuously monitored fridges, a quarantine fridge, a freezer, a temperature monitored and locked drug cupboard, a drug preparation facility and a locked cupboard for pharmacy unblinding files.
Location
The CRF is located on the groundlfoor of Jenner wing at the centre of the hospital as you can see from the map below
