Abstract CN67
Background
Patients with cancer may require inpatient care at times during their care. Most hospitals have specialised cancer wards, though often with limited bed capacity. Most of these wards are focused on the provision of systemic therapy, acute symptom control or a combination of these interventions. The remainder of the oncology inpatients are often cared for in the same hospital but scattered around various wards where the skill mix of the nursing staff may not be focused on the management of patients with cancer. This assessment aims to evaluate the distribution of care for patients with cancer within an ESMO designated centre for integrated oncology and palliative care.
Methods
Patients with cancer admitted under the medical oncology service between 3-4/22 were included in the analysis. Data was collected regarding the bed utilisations per ward where the patient was cared for, their underlying diagnosis, the reason for the admission, and the core function of the patients' ward.
Results
During the period of 1/3/22 to 26/4/22 there were 1696 bed days used across 28 wards for 167 admitted patients. Patient care was delivered via the core inpatient chemotherapy unit in 40% of bed days assessed, with 1 other ward (Hamilton ward) providing care for 15% of bed days assessed. The remaining 26 wards each provided care for 0.05 to 6% of the clinical admission. Surgical wards were involved in 11% of the care. ICU represented only 1% of bed days. 66% of admissions related to cancer-related symptoms; 10% related to the provision of chemotherapy, 7% related to treatment toxicity and 17% to other reasons. The most common cancers were Lung (20%); CNS lymphoma (11%); Colorectal (10%); Prostate (9%); Hepatobiliary (8%); Breast (7%).
Conclusions
Inpatient cancer care within Hospitals is often provided across many different wards focussed on varied diseases. This places certain challenges in terms of skill mix amongst the nursing staff in care of these patients with cancer, either on active therapy or in the final phases of their disease. It is important therefore to have targeted enhancement of the required skill mix for non-cancer trained nurses involved in the care of patients with cancer or to centralise their care to selected wards where the needs of these patients can be delivered.
Clinical trial identification
Editorial acknowledgement
Legal entity responsible for the study
Beaumont Hospital.
Funding
Has not received any funding.
Disclosure
All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.