PATIENTS at the Christie Hospital in Manchester have been given pagers to help reduce the stress of waiting for chemotherapy treatment.
The pagers allow patients with long waits to leave the hospital's chemotherapy suite to go for a walk, enjoy refreshments or relax elsewhere within an eight-mile radius, knowing that they will be called when their treatment is ready.
The introduction of the pager system has been highly commended in the NHS North-west Innovation Awards 2002.
Linda Denman, chemotherapy suite manager, said: " The impact of such a small innovation has brought real benefits to patients and are really popular.
"This group of patients have their chemotherapy made on the day and the complex process means an average three-hour wait in a fairly small room. Now they are confident about going off and doing something that is going to help them relax until they are called for treatment."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article