Skull based tumour telephone clinic information

What is a telephone clinic?

• Telephone clinics are outpatient appointments that take place over the telephone rather than attending the hospital.
• A dedicated time slot on a specific date will be allocated to you and the person doing the clinic will aim to call you on the contact number you have registered at this time.

Why have they been set up?

• Some patients travel very long distances attend clinics as the skull base tumour service is a specialist service.
• Often the appointment is a routine follow-up to discuss MRI images and any concerns following your treatment. Normally it doesn’t involve any procedure or tests that needs to be done in a hospital.
• The telephone clinic is designed to be more convenient to you and save you time and the inconvenience of travelling to Addenbrooke’s.

How do these clinics work?

• As with any other clinic, you will be sent your clinic date and time in the post. During your allocated appointment time we ask you to remain close to your telephone and ensure it is not in use so we can contact you. It is important that you update our records if you make any changes to your telephone number.
• We can contact you on a different number providing you make us aware of the number. We would recommend you choose a number where you can talk easily and feel comfortable talking to us.
• The telephone consultation will normally be done by the specialist nurse or radiographer for the skull base team. This will be under the supervision of the medical consultant for your care.
• We will ask you some security questions to confirm we are talking to the correct person. Due to patient confidentiality issues we will only be able to hold the consultation directly with you, the patient.

What if I prefer to come to clinic?

• If you prefer to attend clinic and have a face to face consultation you are very welcome to contact us to discuss this.

Who will have viewed my images/scans?

• Your scans will have been formally reviewed by a Neuro-Radiologist (a doctor who specialises in looking at scans of the brain) before your telephone consultation.
• Your scans may also be discussed in the skull base multi-disciplinary team meeting prior to your appointment.

What if others want to listen to our conversation?

• We will need to hold the initial consultation with you, as you are the patient. However should you have a speaker phone or wish others to listen to our conversation that is entirely your choice and decision.
• You will receive a letter following the consultation which will provide details of what was discussed and what the future follow up plan is.

Will I always be followed up by telephone?

• Our policy is to offer patients telephone consultations for some follow up appointments where the medical team feel this is suitable. You may still need to attend the hospital for other appointments and if you require other investigations (e.g. hearing assessments).

What if I have any questions or require further information?

If you have any questions about telephone clinics please contact:

Juliette Buttimore or Nicola Gamazo, skull base and NF2 nurse practitioners (Monday -Friday, 09:00 – 16:00) on 01223 348672.

If you have an administrative query about your appointment, please contact the ENT secretaries on 01223 586638 or 01223 256051.

Privacy and dignity

We are committed to treating all patients with privacy and dignity in a safe, clean and comfortable environment. This means, with a few exceptions, we will care for you in same sex bays in wards with separate sanitary facilities for men and women.

In some areas, due to the nature of the equipment or specialist care involved, we may not be able to care for you in same sex bays. In these cases staff will always do their best to respect your privacy and dignity, eg with the use of curtains or, where possible, moving you next to a patient of the same sex. If you have any concerns, please speak to the ward sister or charge nurse.