To ask the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what support is in place to allow patients that are receiving treatment through a drugs trial to continue with that treatment once the trial has come to an end.

Arrangements for continuation of treatment at the end of a drug trial are considered during the research approval process before the trial commences. Where the patient may benefit from ongoing treatment, every effort is made to make sure that there are arrangements in place to allow this. In a small number of cases where it is not possible to obtain any guarantee of access to treatment at the end of a trial, this is made clear to the patient before they agree to participate. Arrangements for continued treatment at the end of a trial are also considered and approved by an independent research ethics committee before a trial commences.