On site rapid discharge ambulance transport service

The Christie NHS Foundation Trust is a NHS Tertiary Level Cancer, with no on-site A&E department. The trust provides a whole range of cancer therapies for a broad range of oncological diseases both solid tumour and Haematology. Due to the patients disease or treatment (e.g. tracheostomy, radiotherapy, myelosuppressive chemotherapy), there is need for some degree of rapid discharge ambulance transport resource on site made available to support our patients who are in their last days or hours of life or those with a complex discharge in place following high level of coordination with medical and nursing teams, intermediate services and health & social care providers who need to be at their place of discharge at a preferred time. Patients who are on the pathway for care in the last days or hours of life, or complex care plans in place ready for discharge should have access to appropriate intermediate non-emergency ambulance transport with a specifically trained crew to transfer them safely in a timely manner to their home or place of preferred healthcare/community setting in a timely and compassionate way. The majority of these transfers can be local with the Manchester area, or further afield (generally within England/Wales). There is also a need for patients to be transferred to other sites within the North West of England Region for urgent and planned specialist treatment/assessment that is not provided at the Christie site. We are experiencing longer waiting times for such transfers, which has an impact on our patients, as well as on staffing resources.