When and how do Macmillan nurses get involved

Hi SallyK23,

there are a number of possible answers to this, so perhaps I can talk of our experience.

Some of the nurses in our oncology unit have been trained by Macmillan and the hospital refers to them as Macmillan nurses but they are employed by the NHS.

On the community we have our own digital nurse - if you have any specific questions for her or the team you can post on Ask a Nurse

When my wife was diagnosed we were referred by the oncologist to our local hospice and again some of the nurses there are classed as Macmillan nurses.

Different teams cover different areas of the country though, what you may well need is a needs assessment for your dad and probably a carers assessment too. Normally his GP will be able to point to the right people to do this as the assessment is done by his local council. 

Hope that helps - if you need more information use the link above or telephone the helpline 0808 808 0000 and they will be able to assist.

<<hugs>>

Steve

Thanks for that Steve. I will give the helpline a call too xx

Hi SallyK23, where we live in the Northeast we have a service called ‘join the dots’ which is a Macmillan service which cancer patients can connect directly to. Also our GP refers you into the Macmillan service, either for palliative care referral or Macmillan nurse assistance referral. I would contact GP for an appointment to get this sorted for you. This is probably the same service in other parts of UK. Hope this helps. 

Thanks DAM36, I think we need to get in touch with the gp; before the emergency surgery in October he’d not seen a doc in over 20 yrs so don’t even know which one it is at the practice he is registered at!