Assessing the impact of introducing trainee advanced clinical practitioners onto an acute oncology triage unit

Abstract

Advanced clinical practitioners (ACPs) have largely been based within acute emergency areas such as emergency departments (EDs) and acute medical units. At The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, ACPs are a new element within oncology services. The acute oncology triage unit sees patients who have received systemic anti-cancer therapy (SACT) presenting with a variety of side effects and symptoms including oncological emergencies, reducing the need for ED attendance. The trainee ACPs identified the neutropenic sepsis pathway as an area requiring urgent change. Through the creation of a new neutropenic sepsis screening tool, as well delivering educational sessions to nursing staff on the unit, the trainee ACPs were able to significantly improve door-to-needle times for patients as well as increasing the use of patient group directions (PGDs), thus reducing delays in antibiotic administration.