Respiratory - Lung Cancer Sector Multi-Disciplinary Team Meetings

The sector multidisciplinary team, or SMDT, as it is known is made up of a group of health professionals who specialise in the care of patients with a diagnosis of lung cancer from Salford, Wigan and Bolton hospitals.

The team consists of specialists who understand how cancer presents, what cancer cells look like under the microscope and how these cells behave. They know what treatments are available and which will be the best treatment option for you. All of the team members play a part in supporting you and your carers during your investigations, treatments, and follow-up care.

To ensure that you are at the centre of any decision-making and that you are the one who benefits, the SMDT meets on a regular basis (weekly) to discuss patient’s diagnosis and treatment plans.

When there are decisions to be made regarding choices of treatments these will be explained to you and written information to help you decide will be available to you.

Obviously not all patients need to access all of the professionals in the team. The following are the team members and a summary of their roles.

The Respiratory Physician

The Respiratory Physician is a consultant who specialises in the care of patients with all manner of respiratory diseases of which lung cancer is one. They will take the lead on your investigations and lead the discussion on your care at the SMDT.

The Lung Cancer Specialist Nurse

The Lung Cancer Specialist Nurse is a registered nurse with experience within the field of lung cancer and respiratory diseases and is employed to provide a service to patients who have a diagnosis of primary lung cancer. They work closely with the Respiratory Physicians and other members of the SMDT.

The lung cancer specialist nurse will support patients from diagnosis, through treatments. They will be one of your points of contact to ensure timely referrals to other services as your needs require e.g. Social Workers, District Nurses, Palliative Care Nurses (formerly known as Hospital or Community Macmillan Nurses).  They are also available to offer advice and support to you and your carers as well as help with symptom control e.g. pain or breathlessness.

The Lung Cancer Specialist Nurse at Salford can be contacted throughout the week, Monday to Friday for support and advice for patients undergoing treatments or on completion of treatments. Home visits are also undertaken for some patients during their treatment pathway, initially after diagnosis, but occasionally some patients may require further visits.

For advice out of hours, weekends and bank holidays please contact your GP Out of Hours Advice Line, or your Community Nurses.

St. Ann’s Hospice, Little Hulton also provide a 24-hour advice line for patients, carers and healthcare professionals on 0808 144 2860.

The Radiologist

This is a doctor who is trained in the interpretation of x-rays and specialist scans which assist in making a diagnosis. The radiologist can also carry out some procedures for example ultra-sound guided liver biopsy, CT scan guided lung biopsy and some treatments i.e. insertion of stents.

The Histopathologist

The Histopathologist is a doctor who is an expert in examining cancer cells under the microscope. They predict how the cells may behave and it is their job to help discover what type of cancer it is, which will assist in making treatment decisions.

The Oncologist

The Oncologist is a specialist who offers non-surgical treatment to patients with a diagnosis of lung cancer.

The Clinical Oncologist specialises in radiotherapy.

The Medical Oncologist specialises in chemotherapy.

There is a weekly Lung Cancer Oncology Clinic at Salford Royal Hospital for patients every Thursday morning. This is run by a Lung Cancer Clinical Oncologist. Patients may be referred for treatment locally to Christie at Salford if appropriate. Otherwise, treatment may also be given by the Oncologists at Christie, Withington, Macclesfield, Oldham and Wythenshawe Hospitals.

The Thoracic Surgeon

The Thoracic surgeon is a surgeon who specialises in surgical procedures on the lung. They are based at Wythenshawe hospital.

Any questions?

If you have any concerns regarding any aspect of your care, or if you have not understood the information which has been given to you, please do not hesitate to contact the Lung Cancer Specialist Nurse on:  lungcancerservice@nca.nhs.uk or call 0161 206 5771 or 0161 206 1498.

If they are in clinic, on the wards or on home visits there will be an answering machine available for you to leave a message which will be answered as soon as possible. The specialist nurses work Monday to Friday 8am until 4pm, they are not an emergency service.

Further information can be obtained from the following websites:

www.roycastle.org
0333 323 7200

www.Macmillan.org.uk
0808 808 00 00

Research

Research is undertaken to add to the existing scientific knowledge on a particular subject. There are a number of staff within the Trust who conduct Research studies. It is possible that during the course of your treatment you may be asked to take part in a research study. However, you do have the right to refuse, and this will not affect the care that you receive.

Your NHS Number, Keep it Safe

Every person registered with the NHS in England and Wales has their own unique NHS number. It is made up of 10 digits for example 123 456 7890.

Everyone needs to use the NHS Number to identify you correctly. It is an important step towards improving the safety of your healthcare.

Always bring your NHS number with you to all hospital appointments or quote it if you need to telephone the hospital for any enquires. This will allow staff to check they have the right patient details by checking this against your NHS number.

To improve safety always check your NHS number on the correspondence the NHS send to you.

Ways of finding out your NHS Number:

If you do not know your NHS number, contact your GP or local Primary Care Trust. You may be asked for proof of your identity, for example a passport or other form of identity this is to protect your privacy.

Once you have obtained your NHS Number write it down and keep it safe.

Information Rights and Access

The Trust will keep your information secure and confidential at all times. The Data Protection Act 1998 states that personal and sensitive information must be processed fairly, lawfully and securely. This applies to all information we hold whether on paper or electronically on computer systems. All personal information is processed fairly, lawfully and as transparently as possible so that you:

• Understand the reasons for us processing your personal information
• Give your consent for the disclose and use of information where necessary
• Gain trust in the way we handle your information
• Know that you have the right to request access to personal information we hold about you

Information relating to the business of the Trust is available under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. For example, what we spend and what we do. You can find out more by visiting the Trust website or submitting a Freedom of Information request to the Trust for this information.

For further information regarding data protection, please read our leaflet called “How we use your personal information”. For Freedom of Information, please read our leaflet called “The Freedom of Information Act and You”. You can also visit the Information Governance pages on the Trust website.

Patient Relations – The Patient Advice and Liaison Services (PALS)

The Patient Relations/PALS Department provides confidential on the spot advice, information and support to patients, relatives, friends and carers. We will do our best to help you to resolve any concerns you may have about the care you received. We can also give you information on the services provided by the Trust.

If you have a concern or there is a problem, the best way to get it resolved is usually to tell someone there and then. If you are on a ward, talk to the sister or charge nurse on duty, in a clinic, talk to the receptionist or one of the nursing staff. If you want to talk to a senior manager or to someone who has not been directly involved in your care and treatment, we can usually arrange this during office hours. You can also ask to speak to a member of the PALS Department.

Staff in any ward or department will be able to contact a member of the team for you, or you can telephone 0161 206 2003.

The Patient Relations/PALS Department is open Monday to Friday, 9am to 4pm. Outside of these hours there is an answer phone service.

Or alternatively, you can write to:

PALS Department, The Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, Unit 7/8 Whitney Court, Southlink Business Park, Hamilton Street, Oldham, OL4 1DB
Telephone: 0161 778 5665
Email: pals@nca.nhs.uk
 
In addition to Patient Relations/PALS Service you can contact CARE LINE on 0161 206 2003/2090. This is available Monday to Friday 8.30am to 12.00 or 1.30pm to 4.30pm.

Your views of the service that we provide are important. You can also let us know how you feel by posting your comments on the Patient Opinion website or contacting PALS.

You can access this from the Trust website on: www.northerncarealliance.nhs.uk

Stop Smoking Support

A visit to hospital is very often the trigger for many people to quit smoking, and we know that 70% of people that smoke would like to quit. The Trust has designated smoking areas.

For patients wishing to quit smoking following their admission to hospital, or if patients simply require support during their hospital stay, there is a designated specialist Stop Smoking Team available.

Patients that are not staying in hospital or are planning to quit ahead of their hospital stay can also access specialist support.

The Salford Stop Smoking Service community team provides support across the Borough. You can call the hospital team on 0161 206 1779/7264.

You can call the community team on:0800 952 1000 or email health.improvement@salford.gov.uk or look on their website for more information: www.alwch.nhs.uk/stopsmoking