Ambulatory approach to cancer care. Part 3: starting and maintaining the service and its challenges and benefits

This is the final article in a three-part series. Previous articles discussed the patient experience and the enhanced roles of nurses and the multidisciplinary team (MDT) and their role in safety within ambulatory care (AC) at a major London teaching hospital. There is understandably apprehension when starting a new service and embarking on a new healthcare concept. The challenges of starting and maintaining an AC service are multifaceted. Common questions posed to this London teaching hospital concern the challenges of opening and maintaining a new service and the savings it will produce. There are many indirect savings and benefits to an ambulatory service, although the value of a positive patient experience cannot be measured in monetary terms.