8.30am – I go to my “office” – due to remote working I’m working from an improvised office in my living room surrounded by my much-loved plants. I check my e-mails, and review my to-do list for the day.
9.00am – I have a quick call with other trial team members. We recap the latest progress with trial centres currently being set up, and discuss next steps and actions. My actions this week that I won’t get onto today include liaising with IT on amendments to our database and with our Communications Manager on the upcoming newsletter.
9.30am – I respond to a few e-mails in our trial office inbox. These are mainly enquiries from research staff across the UK; active site teams with queries and new site teams asking for information as part of their centre set-up.
Trial centres must go through a rigorous process for set-up, this includes many internal department checks, legal agreements, financial arrangements, staff training, and other paperwork. All of these procedures make sure that a trial centre is fully prepared to safely and legally recruit trial participants at their site.
11.00am – I look over the trial recruitment figures and prepare a report on this month’s recruitment.
12.30pm – Lunchtime! Time to see what is in the fridge to tempt me today.
1.30pm – I have a call with our trial monitor to discuss some details on a few of our new trial centres. She works for ACCORD, our trial Sponsor who have overall responsibility for the trial. We work alongside them to ensure safety and quality within the trial.
2.30pm – I start writing a report for one of our funders. It’s important to update those who have made donations to support the trial with detail about what’s happening.
3.45pm – I respond to a few more e-mails in our trial office inbox to make sure any queries are addressed promptly and new centres can open as soon as possible.
4.45pm – I review my to-do list, and make a fresh list for tomorrow including a plan for the main trial management team weekly meeting with the Chief Investigator.