It's nice to be needed
3 min to read
Kris enjoys leaving his very busy lifestyle behind to come and visit Quotient to assist in our medical advancements
I currently work for the railway services as a manager, with a family of two kids and a dog. With both myself and my wife in full time employment, my lifestyle is very busy. Several times a year, I leave behind the hectic schedule - the commute into London daily, the cramped train, the crowds of people and the sounds of sirens and I donate my time to medical science. There are people that would consider me a hero, to assist in the advancement of medicines to ensure they are available in the future for people in far more need than me.
I recall a few years ago hearing an advert on Heart FM in Birmingham on my way to work as a police officer - ‘We Need You’ it said and as it’s nice to be needed, I made enquiries. Having filled out an application telling them about myself and my medical history, I travelled over to Ruddington to attend my first visit at Quotient.
At the time, I had a very young family with single income and we needed the money to help with a few bills and a holiday and the inconvenience allowance came in handy. Nowadays, the money is used for extra holiday spending or just to top up savings and more recently when my wife wanted a slightly more expensive car.
I recall attending my first trial. The one I had picked had a Friday evening admission and discharged on a Monday morning, so it worked with my schedule at work. I still pick the trials that work well with my work pattern; I have previously completed trials of 16 days.
The facilities are good, on every trial I have made a friend and got to know people from across the UK and had a real laugh and with the staff too.
I have to say the food is one of the things I look forward to. A choice of breakfast cereals, croissant and even muffins on my last visit. Tea, coffee, water and juice is also available (decaffeinated only!). Lunch is a great choice of soup, sandwiches, rolls and wraps, salads, crisps and fruit. Evening meal choices are always good too and the menu has grown over the years and includes a hearty desert choice as well.
I am a bit of a TV fiend, and not getting time in my life very often to watch much television, I take the opportunity to put back the recliners, watch as many movies as we can find, socialise and relax. There are pool tables, table tennis, bingo, books, board games and more. The time really does fly.
Of course, there is the medical study to consider and the procedures this involves which can take some time during the day. I recall a daily evening Monopoly game with a regular group of six of us during one 10-day stay that made the evenings fly.
My family enjoy the rewards that taking part in these studies helps with such as city breaks &family holidays.
Last – but by no means least, all the staff deserve a mention - they are funny, interesting, bubbly! I moved to Milton Keynes four years ago and have several clinical trials facilities nearer to me and they don’t have a patch on Quotient. The staff make the difference, the facilities are better than others I have visited and it keeps bringing me back.
In summary, I look forward to heading back to Quotient, to have a rest, a break, be well fed, chill out, meet new people- and the real reason we are there - to help make a difference to medicines for our future our children’s futures…