Stem cell treatment closer to home at Northampton General Hospital
October 09, 2017
Patients receiving a highly specialist form of transplant therapy using their own stem cells can now be treated closer to home thanks to the re-introduction of the service at Northampton General Hospital.
Since April, NGH’s haematology department has been carrying out autologous stem cell transplants on Talbot Butler ward.
An autologous stem cell transplant involves collecting a patient’s stem cells and returning them at a later stage after extremely high doses of chemotherapy to eradicate their cancer. The infused stem cells help to speed up bone marrow recovery after high-dose chemotherapy.
Previously, patients received this specific treatment at the University Hospitals of Leicester. With the new service, patients travel to Leicester to have their stem cells collected but the transplant treatment is completed in Northampton.
Consultant haematologist Dr Jane Parker said: “A local transplant service offers treatment closer to home for patients and it’s delivered by the healthcare professionals they are familiar with, so there are clear advantages in terms of our patients’ experience.
“It benefits our haematology healthcare teams as well, by improving their knowledge and expertise in quite a specialist area. We’ve developed a training programme for our haematology nurses and doctors to ensure patients receive the best possible transplant care.
“It’s been made possible thanks to the hard work and collaboration between the transplant teams, managers and quality management teams at Northampton and University Hospitals of Leicester.”
The new transplant service has developed dedicated transplant clinics, transplant care plans, and specific transplant ward rounds. The service meets national and international standards of safe transplant care.