Acute Haematology Oncology Nursing Service:
The Acute Haematology Oncology telephone triage nursing service is pivotal in providing a non-ED direct access route for cancer patients who require review. Using this service, cancer patients who are on treatment and become unwell can access a clinical nurse specialist via a dedicated telephone line in any of the 26 centres across the country that deliver systemic anticancer therapy (SACT). This is the nearest thing to scheduling unscheduled care for cancer patients who are undergoing active treatment.
Aim of the service/ Purpose
The AHOS service focuses on the management and treatment of patients who present acutely unwell with cancer treatment side-effects or as an emergency complication from a known cancer diagnosis .Unwell patients who require additional review or treatment are, where possible seen in the cancer day care unit or a dedicated space away from the emergency department (ED).
The HSE urgent and emergency care operational plan 2023 resonates with the aims of what the service is striving to achieve with a focus on avoiding emergency department attendance for cancer patients who become unwell on treatment. It is also strategically in line with the National Cancer Strategy objective to ensure that patients on active treatment receive appropriate admission in emergency situations.
Future Planning:
The National Cancer Control Programme is committed to driving the Acute Haematology Oncology Nursing Service nationally. Future resilience is required to meet patient needs. Realising this goal will deliver tangible benefits for cancer patients in Ireland.
The values of diversity, equity and inclusivity have been central to the acute haematology oncology nursing service from its inception and continue to underpin all developments in the service.
The patient’s voice has been key to this service development to date and continues to shape the service. A key partnership project with the Department of Health Cancer Patient Advisory Group in 2024 focused on developing standardised evidenced based patient information for all service users.
This project has now been rolled out nationally following the development of a standard national name for the telephone triage line: SOS Hotline and the production of two standardised artefacts for national usage: standard patient information leaflet (PIL) and standard alert card.
Feedback from this work has been resoundingly positive and patient information is now available in six languages. Ongoing work seeks to include groups who may be underrepresented. Patient and professional partnership ensured the success of this project. Standardising information nationally meets key recommendations and service user needs.
Patients and Nurses have partnered to launch a new name for this service. You can find the **SOS Hotline** information, along with National Standardised Patient Information leaflets (PILs) and Alert Cards in six languages, by following this link to PILs & Alerts.
Last Update: 30/12/2024
