Myeloproliferative service - an introduction

Welcome to the myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) service at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUH). Please take the time to read this information leaflet.

The team

Haematology consultants

We have a team of MPN consultants with overall responsibility for your care:

• Professor Brian Huntly
• Dr Anna Godfrey
• Dr Emma Gudgin
• Dr Jyoti Nangalia
• Dr Duncan Brian

Clinical nurse specialists (CNSs)

Our CNSs, Rachel Harrison and Inna David, will be your MPN key-workers, supporting you throughout your care.

Other members of the team

Specialist haematology registrars (SpRs) are experienced doctors who will work alongside other members of the team in the management of your condition.

The haematology day unit staff will look after your treatments such as bone marrow sampling or venesections and if emergency appointments are needed outside the clinic times.

Our Tuesday clinics are staffed by experienced healthcare assistants, and appointments are booked by the oncology reception team.

Other people who may help care for you include pharmacists, dietitians, physiotherapists and the Macmillan team.

Your appointments

Clinic appointments are on Tuesday mornings, Wednesday afternoons (SpR-led clinic) and Monday and Thursday mornings (nurse-led clinics). Appointments can be made in person in the clinic reception or will be sent in advance via post or ‘MyChart’ (see below).

Appointments take place over the telephone, video or in person. Face-to-face reviews take place in the haematology/oncology outpatients department. You will be reviewed by one of the MPN team, either a consultant, SpR or a CNS. If you would like to speak to a particular team member, please let us know well in advance and we will try our best to accommodate you, although this will not always be possible as different clinics are staffed by different members of the team.

As CUH is a teaching hospital, trainee doctors and nurses may also be present at your review, with your consent.

We encourage you to bring a relative or friend to your appointment, although this may be limited by infection control measures. Please check the latest hospital guidance before your appointment to ensure this is allowed.

Your blood tests

Blood tests are needed before each clinic visit unless you have been specifically informed; they need not be done by a member of the MPN team. It is your responsibility to ensure your blood test results are available prior to your clinic visit. The options for having blood tests taken are:

1. Blood tests taken in the phlebotomy room of the outpatient clinic, which opens at 08:00 (8am). This can be done on the morning of clinic; however, it can take 90 minutes or more to get a result from the laboratory, so please allow time for your blood test before your appointment. Bloods can also be taken in the clinic phlebotomy room at other times. If one of the concerns about your condition is a raised haematocrit (HCT) then we ask you to have your blood tests taken in CUH. No blood forms or tubes are needed.
2. Newmarket Road Park and Ride. No appointment is needed; this is a drive-through service, available between 09:30 (9.30am) and 16:30 (4:30pm) Monday to Friday. No blood forms or tubes are needed.
3. Princess of Wales, Ely Community Diagnostic Centre. Appointment required, phone 01223 808522. Available between 09:00 (9am) and 16:00 (4pm) Monday to Friday.
4. Some GP practices (at their discretion) will take bloods for patients. You need to bring the paper forms and blood tubes, which will be either given to you in clinic or sent from us in the post. Ideally, the blood tests would be sent from your GP practice to CUH, rather than another hospital laboratory, as it is often difficult for us to obtain your blood results from other hospitals. If you do have bloods processed by another hospital, please call our administrator on 01223 349086 once you have had them taken to ensure the results are available for your clinic. If you live far from CUH you may prefer to have your MPN care provided by the haematology team in your local hospital – you can discuss this with a member of the MPN team.
5. If you are unable to leave your home, the CNS team can arrange for your district nurse to take your blood tests.

MyChart

MyChart is the electronic patient portal to the CUH eHospital electronic patient record system. It allows patients the option to securely access parts of their health record via smartphone or tablet (Apple or Android), or from a personal computer or laptop. MyChart is designed to improve communication between you and your clinical teams and enable you to be more involved and informed about your care. Please speak with a member of the team to register on MyChart.

Clinical trials

CUH is a busy research centre and is involved in clinical trials supported by the clinical trials team. If appropriate, your consultant will discuss any relevant trials during your clinic appointment.

Inpatient admissions

The vast majority of the MPN service is outpatient based. If you are admitted to hospital, we have two haematology teams who look after inpatients across several main wards including C10, U3 and D9.

Contact numbers

You can use MyChart to manage your appointments, and for non-urgent messages. Alternatively:

• to change a clinic appointment, call oncology reception on 01223 216551
• to change a haematology day unit appointment for a bone marrow biopsy or venesection, call 01223 217720

For urgent queries, or if you are unwell, call 01223 274225 (available 24/7).

For non-urgent medical queries, leave a message for the CNSs on 01223 596279 (option 5).

For non-medical queries or other practical support, call the Macmillan Cancer Navigator on 01223 216876.

For information on Covid and MPNs, the MPN voice website has fully up to date information. Information is available about eligibility for Covid vaccinations and specific treatments for Covid such as antivirals. If you are not comfortable accessing information online but have questions, please ask the clinical team.

Other support/information

Not all of the patients we look after have blood cancers, but for those who do we hope you find the following links helpful. If you do not have blood cancers but are cared for by our team, please talk to us about what support would be useful for you.

• MPN voice (opens in a new tab) – A charity committed to supporting patients with MPNs and other similar disorders. They publish excellent information leaflets.
• Blood cancer UK (opens in a new tab) – A charity with information about all types of blood cancer.
• Macmillan UK Cancer Information and Support (opens in a new tab) – A charity with information about the individual MPNs and a good source of helpful practical advice, such as financial advice, for patients with cancer.
• Maggie’s (opens in a new tab) – Maggie’s Cambridge provides a wide range of help for cancer patients before, during and after their treatment.