Roadshow introduces WACHS Trials Centre to metro Perth stakeholders

More than 140 stakeholders gathered throughout May for a metropolitan roadshow introducing the WA Country Health Service (WACHS) Trial Centre – a state-wide initiative expanding access to clinical trials for patients living in regional and remote WA.

Delivered by the WACHS Trial Centre and supported by the WA Life Sciences Innovation Hub, the roadshow featured information sessions hosted at the major health services in Perth: Royal Perth Hospital (East Metropolitan Health Service), the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research (North Metropolitan Health Service), Perth Children’s Hospital (Child and Adolescent Health Service), and Fiona Stanley Hospital (South Metropolitan Health Service).

The WACHS Trial Centre is focused on linking regional sites with metropolitan hospitals and sponsors to ensure more Western Australians – wherever they live – can participate in trials that can change or save lives. Representing one of the largest geographical health services in the world, WACHS operates across more than 2.5 million square kilometres and delivers healthcare to over 558,000 people.

The Centre supports clinical trials of all intervention types including medicines, medical devices, software, behavioural changes, and service changes, and works collaboratively with the regions to implement the National Clinical Trials Governance Framework.

The team supports every stage of the clinical trial lifecycle, offering site-specific education and training, in-person and virtual coordination, trial start-up guidance, and hands-on assistance from an experienced team. The team is highly agile and works directly with metro-based clinicians, trial sponsors, and local clinicians across regional WA to ensure participant safety, data integrity, and care delivered closer to home.

At each roadshow session, attendees heard directly from the WACHS leadership team, including Anita John and Narelle Mullan (Directors, Research and Innovation), Dr Wei-Sen Lam (Medical Lead- Teletrials), Nadine Herren (Clinical Trial Manager), and Katrina Orr (Senior Teletrials Pharmacist), who outlined how the Centre is delivering place-based clinical research through a centrally connected model.

Key benefits for sponsors and clinical trial teams include:

• Broader access for patients in rural, regional, and remote areas to participate in cutting-edge clinical research;
• Improved recruitment and retention, offering more representative trial populations;
• Expert support through the trial lifecycle, including guidance on trial start-up and conduct;
• Stronger collaboration between metro and regional trial sites; and
• Available funding through the national Teletrial Support Program to enable trial delivery across distances.

The WACHS Trial Centre is also positioning itself to attract national and international trials, helping to grow WA’s clinical trial capacity.

The services offered by the Centre aligns with the recently released WA Clinical Trials Roadmap, which outlines a vision for a world-class, culturally safe, and connected clinical trials ecosystem accessible to all Western Australians. According to the national data from MTPConnect, Australia’s clinical trials sector recorded $1.6 billion in expenditure in 2022, with over 90,000 participants involved in 1,850 new trials[1] – momentum that the WA sector is keen to build on.

For more information about the WACHS Trial Centre and how to engage with regional trial delivery in WA, visit their website or check out the upcoming WACHS Trial Centre Educational Webinars designed to support study coordinators, research nurses, and investigators across WA in initiating and managing Teletrials between sites.