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Nurse practitioner support for transfusion in patients with haematological disorders in hospital and at home
Author(s) -
; Craig,
Paul Milligan,
Cairns,
; Mcclelland,
• Parker
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
transfusion medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.471
H-Index - 59
eISSN - 1365-3148
pISSN - 0958-7578
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-3148.1999.009001031.x
Subject(s) - medicine , emergency medicine , blood transfusion , patient satisfaction , intensive care medicine , medical emergency , nursing
We prospectively studied the effects of dedicating a nurse to manage the provision of blood product support in a hospital haematology unit and at home to 45 patients with haematological disorders requiring regular transfusion. During the study 335 home blood tests, 65 home platelet transfusions and 155 hospital transfusions were managed by the nurse who organized the whole transfusion process, made home visits for blood tests and platelet transfusions and arranged hospital visits for red cell transfusions. Two hundred clinic visits and 65 day hospital attendances were avoided. The nurse‐led service resulted in a significant reduction in the waiting time from admission to transfusion and in the total length of in‐patient stay. The importance of and satisfaction with different aspects of the care of the transfusion process assessed by a ranking questionnaire showed improved satisfaction scores for all aspects of care. Preference for home blood sampling instead of hospital increased from 24% before to 100% after intervention. We have shown that a dedicated transfusion nurse provides a quality service between hospital and home that is greatly appreciated by patients requiring regular transfusions.