Haematology Oncology Day Care

A range of services and treatments are provided in the HODC and these services are continually expanding. They include:

• Consultant-led haematology and oncology clinics
• Nurse-led haematology and oncology assessment services.

Treatments:

• Chemotherapy        
• Blood product administration
• Therapeutic apheresis (removal of selected, abnormal components or cells from the circulation while returning all others)
• Haemopoetic stem cell transplant care (referring to the transplant of immature cells that can develop into all types of blood cells)
• Pre-transplant care
• Stem cell harvest
• Stem cell/ donor lymphocyte infusions (transplant of stem cells or white blood cells)
• Transitional care and long-term follow-up, post-transplant care
• Vaccination programme for patients of the long-term follow-up service
• Phlebotomy (blood test)
• Telephone triage.

The HODC has a designated medical, nursing, and administrative team that works extensively with the wider multi-disciplinary team in order to deliver integrated patient-centred care.

• Clinical leadership is provided by the HOPe (Haematology, Oncology and Palliative Care Directorate) Clinical Director
• Nursing leadership is provided by the Clinical Nurse Manager. The nursing team consists of staff nurses, clinical nurse managers and site-specific clinical nurse specialists (CNS) teams. The team also includes:
  • Chemotherapy nurse specialists
  • Oncology nurse specialists
  • Haematology nurse specialists
  • Bone marrow transplant nurse specialists
  • Clinical trials nurses
  • Healthcare attendants.
• Administrative leadership is provided by the Administrative Team Manager and the Deputy Business Manager. The administration team includes:
  • Clerical officers
  • Secretarial staff
• Pharmacy leadership is provided by the Chief II Oncology Pharmacist
• Support staff, including porters, cleaning staff and catering staff, are under the manager of General Support Services.

The HODC is supported by multidisciplinary services. All patients receiving treatment benefit from the on-site clinical pharmacology service. If you require any of the following specialist support services, your medical or nursing team will complete a referral and arrange for you to be seens:

• Physiotherapy
• Occupational therapy
• Social work service
• Psycho-oncology service
• Clinical nutrition
• Palliative care service

Telephone Triage

A dedicated telephone triage service is provided during operational hours to all patients receiving treatment in the HODC. The service is provided by senior oncology and haematology nurses who follow specific guidelines and use a standardised assessment tool to assess the patient’s problem. The triage nurse is responsible for ensuring that patient issues are dealt with in an appropriate and timely way. This may involve giving advice to the patient or referring them to other members of the team.

Patients who have a transmissible infection are asked to attend HODC only when there are adequate isolation facilities available. If the patient’s symptoms are unrelated to their haematology or oncology condition, they are advised to attend their GP or emergency department. Details of all interactions are recorded on the Electronic Patient Record (EPR).