iPoint update
The youngest LJMC service, the outreach information service in the Cancer Centre, has now been fully operational for just over three months and is already proving a valuable addition to the portfolio of services we offer.
Following our selection as an NHS Beacon for the implementation of the new online Information Prescription Service (IPS), Macmillan Patient Information Lead, Theresa Sullivan, has been working to establish a satellite patient information service in the main building of the Cancer Centre.
One of the first tasks was to recruit a brand new team of volunteers to run the service. A great article in the local paper in the late autumn yielded a magnificent response and the next couple of months were spent interviewing and training the new recruits.
Meanwhile, Theresa had to identify and furnish a suitable spot in the Cancer Centre which was convenient for patients and staff alike as well as order laptops and arrange for Internet access.
Finally, in April, we were ready to go live with our fledgling service.
Staff in the outpatients' clinics are now becoming more familiar with the new service, identifying patients' information needs and directing them to the iPoint where they are given the leaflets they need.
Like many new projects, it's been a slow start but this has also given the team time to become more familiar with the computer system and the workings of the LJMC and Cancer Centre.
Located close to the reception area, the volunteers spend much of their time giving directions to visitors too. Very often they will take visitors to where they need to go. "It's quite a complicated hospital site until you get to know it," they said, "so it's easier to show people than draw a map. Sometimes patients come back to the iPoint to thank us which really makes it worthwhile."
During the implementation we have been fortunate to have had the support and help of our project facilitator, Jenny Freeman. Jenny was seconded to the LJMC for six months by the National Cancer Action Team as part of the Beacon initiative.
Jenny has now moved on to help other hospitals implement the IPS, drawing on the experiences she gained working alongside us at the LJMC.
"Everybody here has been so nice to me."
Comment by patient
"Having the IPS in clinic is a great reminder for me and junior members of the team of how much information is out there to support our patients."
Comment by MVCC consultant
"You have all achieved such a great deal during the Beacon period which also reflects the hard work and commitment of yourselves in the cancer centre and LJMC. I know that your excellent work will continue to go from strength to strength."
Elaine Wilson
National Cancer Information Prescriptions Manager
National Cancer Action Team
Last updated: July 21, 2011
We are still in need of a few more volunteers to work on the iPoint. If you are interested in helping, or know someone who is, please contact us via the Helpline (01923 844014).
Volunteers need to enjoy working with people, reliable, compassionate and discreet. They should have basic computer skills and full training will be given in using the IPS.
Most of the iPoint volunteers commit to working half a day each week.
This article first appeared in the Summer 2011 issue of the LJMC newsletter, Open Door.