This information leaflet explains how and when to contact the hotline for clinical advice.
The teams at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre will help you through every stage of your cancer journey.
Depending on your specific case, your cancer doctor may consider one or a combination of treatments.
We understand that during this period you may unfortunately develop symptoms related to your cancer or the treatments used to manage it. This can cause distress during an already difficult time and for help with this you can call The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre Hotline for advice on how to manage these clinical issues.
When not to call Hotline
To ensure unwell patients get the advice they need quickly, we ask you not to call the hotline for queries unrelated to clinical advice, such as:
- To inquire about or amend appointments
- To obtain repeat prescriptions
- To help contact other members of staff
- To arrange transport
For help with routine queries like these please contact switchboard who will gladly direct you to the correct person.
Switchboard phone number - 0151 556 5000
When to call Hotline
The Hotline is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and is operated by specially trained cancer nurses. It is available for urgent clinical advice relating to new symptoms or problems that may be related to your cancer treatment or its management.
The team can provide advice over the phone on how to manage your symptoms. Should they feel you require further review, they will advise you on the most appropriate location to attend.
In some cases, depending on your symptoms, we may ask you to attend a local same day emergency care (SDEC) unit at your local hospital, your GP or walk-in centre rather than the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre. We will not ask you to attend A&E unless it is an emergency or we think your symptoms are very serious and need urgent attention.
Important information
We find that people who feel unwell and wait too long before calling our hotline can become very sick and have to attend Accident and Emergency (A&E).
So, do not wait until you feel very unwell, or for a number of days before contacting us, it is always better to contact the hotline at an early stage rather than waiting for your symptoms to get worse.