Treatments

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Oncology Treatment Hotline

Call 01483 571122 and ask the operator for the Oncology Treatment Hotline.

What is the Oncology Treatment Hotline?

 

The Oncology Treatment Hotline is a 24-hour advice line for patients’ who are currently receiving, or have recently undergone anti-cancer treatment. This includes patients who have had chemotherapy or radiotherapy within the last six weeks or immunotherapy within the last 12 months. 

The line provides support, advice and information to patients’ experiencing oncology treatment related symptoms.

You can call 01483 571122 24 hours a day, seven days a week and ask the operator for the Oncology Treatment Hotline. You will be asked for your full name, contact number, and the name of your consultant. A member of our team will aim to call you back within 30 minutes, however it can be longer during busy periods.

When to call?

If you are experiencing side effects as a result of your treatment and need advice on how to manage these. This could include, but is not limited to:

■ Sore mouth that prevents you from eating/drinking

■ Nausea and vomiting

■ Diarrhoea

■ Constipation

■ Fever above 37.5

■ Temperature below 36.0

■ Sudden swelling or pain in a limb

■ PICC line issues

■ Rashes

■ Pain not eased by paracetamol/ibuprofen or your normal analgesia. If you are under the care of a Supportive & Palliative Care Team or Community Palliative Care Team, please contact them first.

When not to call?

If you or the person you are calling about is experiencing chest pain, struggling to breathe, has lost consciousness, had a seizure, or severe bleeding, please hang up and call 999.

Do not call for:

■ Appointment queries, including when expecting a clinic phone call that day. You can contact the Appointments team on: 01483 406761

■ For test results, including blood or scan results. These will be explained to you at your next appointment. If you are concerned, please contact your clinical nurse specialist.

 ■ Your last chemotherapy or radiotherapy treatment was more than six weeks ago, or immunotherapy more than 12 months ago. In this instance please contact your GP or call 111.

■ You are not the patient and do not have consent to call on their behalf.

■ Transport related enquiries.

What to expect?

You will be asked a number of questions by the hotline staff member as part of their assessment. Some questions may seem unrelated to the reason for your call, however these allow the team to give you correct advice.

What happens next?

The team member will either provide you with advice over the telephone, ask you to contact your GP, ask you to attend the Oncology Same Day Emergency Care Service for further assessment or tell you to attend the Emergency Department at Royal Surrey.

If Royal Surrey is not your local hospital, you may be directed to your nearest local hospital.