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Home > Research > Research with children and young people > Early phase research

Early phase research

This page provides information on the early phase part of our research department for parents and young people at Alder Hey. Find out more about what we do here.

Early Phase Research – Our Clinical Research Facility (CRF)

Children and young people taking part in clinical trials may need to visit our NIHR (National Institute of Health Research) Clinical Research Facility (CRF) for tests and procedures. The Facility has been carefully designed for children, young people and their families to create a child-friendly place where research can take place safely with the support of Alder Hey’s leading-edge equipment and expertise.

Our CRF is located on the 1st floor, above the Outpatients Department (near Costa Coffee). The nearest route is via the staircase/lifts to the left of the Outpatients Department.

Find out about some of the clinical trials taking place on our CRF.

Key features

  • Two inpatient ensuite overnight facilities for children and their parents/carers
  • Six-day case chair spaces
  • Three consultation/treatment rooms
  • 2:1 Nursing care for children and young people and their families
  • Telemetric patient monitoring.
  • A dedicated Trials Pharmacist and dispensary
  • A dedicated Play Specialist, supporting the patient’s journey
  • Outreach services to conduct experimental and early-phase research studies in co-located clinical areas within Alder Hey

The CRF has specialist expertise in blood sampling in children of all ages, handling small-volume samples and is the only UK paediatric CRF with dedicated paediatric clinical pharmacologists. It operates to the highest standards and has undergone numerous successful inspections in accordance with UK Clinical Trials Legislation, EU Directives and MHRA GCP compliance.Alder Hey has specialists in almost every aspect of paediatric healthcare, but it can be difficult to know who to contact. The link below will take you to a survey (approx. 1 min completion time), and will be reviewed weekly by the research division team, provide a rapid response, and we will then find the right person/people at our end.  So whether you have a twinkle of a research idea in your eye, have a fully approved protocol, or anything in between, please do get in touch.

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