Transforming chemotherapy 3 Counties Cancer Network

The project aimed to transform chemotherapy services at Cheltenham General Hospital by developing a tool for recording toxicity assessment as part of an electronic chemotherapy record. The aim was to:

• enable patients to become more involved in their own chemotherapy treatment, specifically with the management of toxicity assessment
• establish an efficient and effective multidisciplinary, systems-based approach to toxicity assessment
• support nurse and pharmacist-led chemotherapy toxicity assessment.

The team developed patient information and a self-assessment tool for patients to use, so that clinical staff could spend less time on giving information to patients and conducting assessments. The team also hoped to achieve a reduction in unplanned admissions following chemotherapy.

Who was involved

The project was implemented by the 3 Counties Cancer Network in partnership with the Oncology Centre at Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. It involved a multidisciplinary team of professionals including consultants, nurses and pharmacists.

Outcomes

The project raised awareness at the 3 Counties Cancer Network and the Oncology Centre about the importance of toxicity assessment processes in chemotherapy. It led to the piloting of a toxicity assessment form for telephone and face-to-face consultations across different professional groups, as well as the inclusion of toxicity assessment monitoring in acute oncology measures.

One challenge that arose early on in the project was that the team had to revise the original proposals for the project. Although this caused some delays to the execution of the project, the revised objectives were more realistic and achievable.