Royal Derby Hospital team shortlisted for national award for dedicated cancer unit
Colleagues who are leading the way in innovation that is helping improve the service for cancer patients are celebrating after being shortlisted for a national award.
The team in the Combined Triage Assessment Unit (CTAU) at Royal Derby Hospital have made the shortlist for the category of Urgent and Emergency Care Safety Initiative of the Year at this year's HSJ Awards, for their innovative and compassionate work that saw them free up a whole inpatient ward while also improving safety for patients receiving treatment for cancer.
Duncan Cameron, General Manager of the Cancer Business Unit, said the team set up a cancer assessment unit led by Advanced Clinical Practitioners (ACPs) and registered triage trained nurses, with the aim of providing more timely urgent care for patients undergoing treatment for cancer.
The unit was previously a bay for unwell patients in the Combined Day Unit which developed into a ward before the dedicated area was created with the ambition that patients could avoid coming through the emergency department and attend the assessment unit in order to reduce the infection risk for immunocompromised patients with cancer.
Since the programme was established during the pandemic, the initiative has been a huge success with the team's efforts reducing the admission rate for cancer patients by an incredible 35 per cent, and glowing patient feedback.
The initiative has also freed up bed space which consequently helps reduced ambulance handover times and crowding in the emergency department and general assessment units.
Duncan said: "There are many benefits to both patients and colleagues as a result of this initiative. One of the key changes that has been implemented is the introduction of point of care testing which means instead of waiting hours for blood test results they can instead be tested and receive the results within 20 minutes. This is really important to the patient because if you are receiving cancer treatment the chances are the last place they want to be is in the hospital for longer than they need to.
"It's already been a great success and is really valued by patients."
Duncan said it is fantastic to see the collaboration of colleagues within the team and that the initiative has attracted interest from other organisations across the country, looking to adopt a similar approach.
He said: "It's been amazing seeing everyone work in tandem with a shared goal to improve the service. They are constantly looking at ways to improve and introducing tools such as the electronic triage tool has been really innovative and has improved consistency across the whole service.
"There's very few other organisations that have done this but having a dedicated unit for cancer patients has worked really well for us and I hope that celebrating it nationally is going to further promote the model to other hospitals and hopefully improve cancer assessment and cancer services all across the country."
Chief Executive Stephen Posey said: "This national recognition is testament to the team's dedication to safety and the best possible personalised care for our cancer patients. On behalf of the Trust I can say we are very proud of the team and their innovative, forward thinking and collaborative approach, which truly puts patient safety and experience at the heart of what we do."
The team will now attend an awards ceremony later this year, where they will find out if they have won the prestigious award.