Table 1 Timelines of stages of Best Services Trial
Stage | Feasibility RCT CSO funded | Bridging period NSPCC funded | NIHR funding/legal challenge to London randomisation | Definitive RCT with London site | End of recruitment | New end date with 2.5-year follow-up |
Time | Dec 2011–May 2015 | June 2015–Dec 2015 | Jan 2015–28.08.2017 | 29.08.2017 | 31.7.21 | 29.02.2024 |
Randomisation condition | Consent > baseline > randomisation | Randomisation > consent > baseline | Consent > randomisation > baseline | |||
Key challenges | Very high recruitment rate and delays to accessing services | Waiting lists due to teams treating non-RCT families | Potential for bias to be introduced through post-randomisation baseline assessment—necessary to comply with judicial requirements | |||