This guideline covers integrated diagnostic reporting for diagnosing haematological cancer in adults, young people and children. It also covers staffing, facilities (levels of care) and multidisciplinary teams needed for adults and young people. It aims to improve care for people with suspected or diagnosed cancer by promoting best practice on the organisation of haematological cancer services.

Recommendations

This guideline includes recommendations on:

Who is it for?

  • All healthcare professionals that provide diagnostic and treatment services to adults, young people and children with suspected or diagnosed haematological cancer, including clinical and scientific staff in secondary care
  • All healthcare professionals and scientific staff in haematology wards, units, and specialist integrated haematological malignancy diagnostic services (SIHMDS)
  • Commissioners of diagnostic and treatment services for haematological cancer
  • People with suspected or diagnosed haematological cancers, their families and carers

Guidance development process

How we develop NICE guidelines

This guideline is an update of the NICE cancer service guidance on improving outcomes in haematological cancers (published October 2003).

Your responsibility

The recommendations in this guideline represent the view of NICE, arrived at after careful consideration of the evidence available. When exercising their judgement, professionals and practitioners are expected to take this guideline fully into account, alongside the individual needs, preferences and values of their patients or the people using their service. It is not mandatory to apply the recommendations, and the guideline does not override the responsibility to make decisions appropriate to the circumstances of the individual, in consultation with them and their families and carers or guardian.

All problems (adverse events) related to a medicine or medical device used for treatment or in a procedure should be reported to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency using the Yellow Card Scheme.

Local commissioners and providers of healthcare have a responsibility to enable the guideline to be applied when individual professionals and people using services wish to use it. They should do so in the context of local and national priorities for funding and developing services, and in light of their duties to have due regard to the need to eliminate unlawful discrimination, to advance equality of opportunity and to reduce health inequalities. Nothing in this guideline should be interpreted in a way that would be inconsistent with complying with those duties.

Commissioners and providers have a responsibility to promote an environmentally sustainable health and care system and should assess and reduce the environmental impact of implementing NICE recommendations wherever possible.

  • National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)