Pictured: Matron Caroline Rogers
Patients receiving cancer treatment in Blackburn with Darwen and East Lancashire are now better protected against a potentially fatal side effect, thanks to improvements at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust (ELHT).
Neutropenic sepsis is a potential complication of anti-cancer therapy which requires rapid, specialist treatment.
And in the first three months of 2018, 100 per cent of patients admitted to ELHT’s Ambulatory Care and Acute Medical Units (A and B) were examined and, where appropriate, given medication for neutropenic sepsis within one hour.
Matron Caroline Rogers, from the Primrose Chemotherapy Unit at Burnley General Teaching Hospital said:
“For patients who are currently or recently received treatment for cancer, it is vital that infections are rapidly assessed and treated urgently with antibiotics. These results demonstrate not only the fantastic work of the Acute Oncology Team, but also are also a great example of collaborative working between a number of wards and departments.”
Across all ELHT admitting departments, 88 per cent of cancer patients requiring treatment for neutropenic sepsis received it in one hour or less during January, February and March.
"These results demonstrate not only the fantastic work of the acute oncology team, but also are also a great example of collaborative working between the Acute Oncology Team and our ‘front door’ services, namely, Ambulatory Care, the Acute Medical Units and the Emergency Department.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recently updated its guidance for the treatment of sepsis and ELHT staff have worked hard in recent years to provide more timely treatment.
New data from NHS England also shows that assessment for sepsis in the Trust’s Emergency Department has increased from 52 to 88 per cent since April 2015, with timely treatment for sepsis rising from 49 to 76 per cent in the same period.
Thanking staff at ELHT, NHS England Medical Director for Clinical Effectiveness Celia Ingham-Clark, said: “I would like to congratulate you and your colleagues for all the hard work and dedication you have shown, which has enabled these improvements in sepsis recognition and treatment to take place.”