10.2 COMMUNICATION BETWEEN MDT AND PATIENT/CARER 14
10.3 COMMUNICATION SKILLS TRAINING 14
10.4 PATIENT WRITTEN INFORMATION 14
10.5 COMMUNICATION WITH GPs 14
11.0 DATA COLLECTION AND INFORMATION 14
12.0 AUDIT 15
13.0 CLINICAL TRIALS 15
14.0 NEW DRUGS 15
15.0 ONGOING EDUCATION 15
16.0 SERVICE IMPROVEMENT 15
17.0 AGREEMENT TO OPERATIONAL POLICY 16
Appendix 1 17
Appendix 2 19
1.0 INTRODUCTION
This operational policy details the scope and organisation of services offered by the North Wales Haematological Cancers MDT. It sets out the agreed standards and processes to which all members of the MDT should work in order to ensure the delivery of high quality patient focused care.
The policy has been developed in accordance with national guidelines on the delivery of haematological cancer services, including NICE guidance on Improving Outcomes in Haematological Cancers (2003), the WAG National Standards for Haematological Cancer Services (2005) and JACIE Standards for Haematopoietic Progenitor Cell Collection, Processing and Transplantation (2005). The objectives of this policy are to:
Describe the operational policy by which MDT members should function
Provide an indication to policy makers, commissioners and other stakeholders of how the service is configured and how it functions
Establish a framework for the future assessment of the service
This policy will be reviewed annually by the North Wales Haematological Cancers MDT and updated as appropriate.
2.0 SCOPE OF THE SERVICE
The North Wales Haematological Cancers MDT provides care to a total population of approximately 665,000 (2001 census). The MDT acts as a single team with services based on three sites:
Ysbyty Gwynedd, Bangor, part of North West Wales NHS Trust
Ysbyty Maelor, Wrexham, part of North East Wales NHS Trust
The MDT manages adults with leukaemia, lymphomas and myeloma. All children presenting with a haematological malignancy are referred to the specialist service at Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool.
The MDT offers treatment up to BCSH level 3 ie up to and including high dose therapy with autologous transplantation. Patients requiring level 4 services (ie allogeneic transplantation) are referred to hospitals outside the North Wales Cancer Network, dependent upon the exact nature of the disease and treatment required.
The stem cell harvest service is based at Ysbyty Gwynedd with subsequent re-infusion taking place either at Ysbyty Gwynedd or Ysbyty Glan Clwyd. Wrexham patients are referred to the Christie Hospital in Manchester for stem cell transplantation; the MDT is working towards the repatriation of this work to North Wales in 2007/08. The service at Ysbyty Gwynedd currently performs an average of 13 autologous transplants p.a. and is preparing for JACIE accreditation in 2007/08.
Radiotherapy is provided at the North Wales Cancer Treatment Centre at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd. In addition, Wrexham lymphoma patients requiring therapeutic radiotherapy are referred to the Christie Hospital in Manchester and all patients requiring total body irradiation prior to allogeneic transplantation are referred to the hospital undertaking the transplantation.
Diagnostic services are available at all three sites. In addition the MDT has access to specialist pathology services via the All Wales Lymphoma Review Panel and the cytogenetics service in Cardiff. Patients requiring PET-CT scanning are referred to Mount Vernon Hospital, Watford, in line with the Health Commission Wales service level agreement.
