Use is approved by the Director of Research Operations in consultation with the CNC for Research & Trials.

If teams would like to use MCRU for non-research purposes, contact the CNC for Research and Trials directly.

Researchers requiring use of MCRU for a study, need to seek ‘supporting department declaration’ as part of their governance application to RCH HREC. Prior to approval, detailed information about the planned use in the unit will need to be provided to determine whether it is appropriate for the study be done in MCRU. The key considerations are whether:  

• there is sufficient capacity to fit the proposed study visits.  
• there is laboratory capacity to allow the sample processing.  
• the type samples to be processed fit within the limitations of any restrictions in place (e.g. COVID restrictions) 
• MCRU is the most appropriate place for the proposed study visits to occur from a clinical risk point of view 
   

Many RCH departments frequently support research, most of these departments are part of a single platform for getting supporting department declarations (SDD) called the Department Ethics and Research Platform (DERP). On DEPR researchers can fill in their basic study information (title, summary, type of study, sponsor name etc) once, and then select all the departments who they require support from to start the request process.

To start filling out your study’s record on DERP and submit your request to use MCRU, click here. If your study team already has a platform, you will get an error when you try to put in your HREC number and instructions on who to contact to get access to your study’s platform.

After the researchers submits the form on DERP, the CNC for Research & Trials reviews the space requirements and the appropriateness of MCRU use in relation to availability of space and clinical risk. If the CNC is uncertain or the risk profile of a study, they will seek further advice from the study team and/or Associate Director of the MCTC and others as required.  

If there are more requests for use than there is space, the following will be taken into consideration when determining the greatest need: 

1.      Research has priority for the space. 

2.      Within research, study visits that involve the following are prioritised: 

         a.      Study drug administration 
         b.      High risk procedures
         c.      Frequent blood collection where the samples need to be processed in a time critical manner and cannot be transferred to another laboratory. 

It is the responsibility of the CNC to manage this process on behalf of the Department of Research Operations. The CNC is responsible for ensuring the speedy response to researchers and providing an initial assessment and their professional opinion for the Director. Researchers are encouraged to engage the CNC early in feasibility assessments. This can be done by contacting them directly or submitting their request through DERP). The CNC is generally responsible for managing the MCRU SDD database and liaising with researchers during the application process.