The RD&E supplies blood to Community Hospitals in Mid and East Devon, these include; Exmouth, Tiverton, Sidmouth and Honiton Renal site.
Day transfusions are available at Sidmouth and Tiverton Community Hospitals, please see the Referral Pathway and Booking Form for further information on how to book day case patients.
Referral pathway flow chart for transfusions East and Mid Community Hospitals final 10th Aug 2017
Booking Form 2018: Booking form updated May 2018 V2
As there are many complex steps in the provision of blood and an error at any point could result in incompatible blood being transfused, blood transfusion is very tightly controlled both by ourselves and by national guidelines.
The RD&E ‘Blood Transfusion Guidance for General Practice’ (Blood Transfusion Guidance for General Practice) describes how blood must be requested and samples taken.
It is a national requirement that all Healthcare Professionals who are involved in blood transfusion receive regular training every 3 years. The link below is to an online blood transfusion update module for GPs and community prescribers.
Blood Transfusion Safety module for GPs and community prescribers.
Healthcare professional taking blood samples for transfusion may find the update below useful:
Blood Transfusion safety module for sample takers in Community and Primary Care
Please could you try and ensure that blood samples and requests for transfusion are sent to the Transfusion Laboratory 48 hours in advance of the transfusion date. The sample transport system means they only arrive in the laboratory after 3 pm on the day they have been taken, the transport taking blood out to the Community leaves about 4.30 pm; the turnaround time is just too short for next day transfusions.
Blood for transfusion the following day will normally be collected by the RD&E drivers for delivery from 4.30 pm onwards. If blood is to be delivered outside of this time the laboratory must be contacted to ensure the blood is ready before a taxi or courier is sent.
Provision of blood for patients with atypical red cell antibodies may be delayed, please contact the laboratory on 01392 402467 to discuss transfusion dates.
If you have any queries regarding the provision of blood please contact the Transfusion Laboratory on 01392 402467 or, for non-urgent queries email us at rde-tr.HTT@nhs.net
IV Iron infusions are available to patients in Community Hospitals – further information can be found in the Guideline for the Administration of IV Iron in the Community Hospitals: iron-transfusion-parenteral-infusions-monofer-ch-clinical-guideline updated Version 3 Oct 2018
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