Abstract
Objectives
In 2010, St. James Institute of Oncology (Leeds, UK) created a new acute oncology service (AOS) consisting of a new admissions unit with a nurse-led telephone triage (TT) system. This audit cycle (March 2011 and June 2013) evaluated patient experiences of the reconfigured AOS and staff use of the TT system.
Methods
Patient views were elicited via a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The TT forms were analysed descriptively evaluating completion and data quality, reported symptoms and their severity and advice given (including admission rates).
Results
Patients (n = 40) reported high satisfaction with the new AOS. However, 56 % of patients delayed 2 days or more before contacting the unit. In 2011, 26 % of all the admitted patients were triaged via the TT system; 133 TT forms were completed. In June 2013, 49 % of the admitted patients were triaged; 264 forms were completed. The most commonly reported symptoms on the TT forms were pain, pyrexia/rigors/infection, diarrhoea, vomiting and dyspnoea. Half of the patients using the TT system were admitted (52 % in 2011, 49 % in 2013).
Conclusions
Our audit provided evidence of successful implementation of the TT system with the number of TT forms doubling from 2011 to 2013. The new AOS was endorsed by patients, with the majority satisfied with the care they received.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Dr. Geoff Hall, Dr. Alison Young and all AOS staff for their cooperation and support.
This work was carried out as part of the eRAPID Development Grant RP-DG-1209-10031; ISCTRN trial number CCT-NAPN-21338, funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).
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Lucy Ziegler and Galina Velikova are Joint senior authors
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Warrington, L., Holch, P., Kenyon, L. et al. An audit of acute oncology services: patient experiences of admission procedures and staff utilisation of a new telephone triage system. Support Care Cancer 24, 5041–5048 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-016-3370-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-016-3370-4