Purpose
The primary purpose of the NTPN is to work within National Blood Transfusion Committee (NBTC) objectives to promote safe, effective and appropriate transfusion practice. We aim to enable and strengthen those objectives by facilitating best practice resulting from the Transfusion Practitioner* role.
Scope
The NTPN has membership primarily from England aligned to Regional Transfusion Committees
The NTPN will work to deliver its stated objectives in order to support Transfusion Practitioners in
England to further transfusion education, embed transfusion recommendations and guidance, and
aid collaboration to share best practice
Where required the NTPN will be open to collaboration with similar initiatives in UK, Europe and
Internationally.
Objectives
Provide an active communication network between Regional Transfusion Practitioner Groups to aid collaborative projects and solutions, share best practice and minimise duplication of work
Co-ordinate and share Regional tools and solutions developed to aid the application of the 2014 Recommendations for the Implementation of Patient Blood Management (PBM) for England and the Transfusion 2024 Recommendations
Provide a conduit of two-way communication from Regional to National level to develop a united voice of Transfusion Practitioners
Consult and collaborate with other transfusion practitioner groups (TPG’s) from the devolved nations and international TPGs to share and develop best practice
To provide Transfusion Practitioner expertise in national steering groups, working groups and clinical reference groups where required
Identify Transfusion Practitioner service development needs and feedback to the NBTC
To review NHSBT service delivery change and audit proposals, and to advise on their impact to
hospital clinical transfusion services
Membership
Required
Chair or representative from each Regional Transfusion Practitioner group in England
Representation from BBTS TP Group
Representation from NHSBT PBM Team
Representation from ISBT
Optional
Representation from Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. (During periods when Northern
Ireland, Scotland and Wales are unable to supply members, routes of communication through
the BBTS link will be relied upon)
Representation from NBS in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales
Quorum
The NTPN will be considered quorate if a minimum of five of the seven England RTCs are represented
Working Arrangements
The Network will report back to the NBTC
There will be a minimum of 3 meetings a year by teleconference.
The secretariat of the group will be provided by NHSBT
The Chair of the group will be elected by members of the Network and will expect to serve for a
two-year term, with the option of extending for a further two years.
Members will be expected to rotate as indicated by their local terms of reference of their TPG. In
areas that do not have a local term of reference, they will be expected to serve for two years.
Outcome Measures
Development of shared resources for Transfusion Practitioners
Engagement and coordination of Transfusion Practitioners in delivering national initiatives
An annual national education day for Transfusion Practitioners
An active and regularly updated web page on the Joint United Kingdom (UK) Blood Transfusion and Tissue Transplantation Services Professional Advisory Committee website
V2. April 2021
*Transfusion Practitioner is the most commonly used job title in England but alternative titles include Hemovigilance Practitioners, Transfusion Clinical Nurse Specialists and Hospital Patient Blood Managers. Throughout this document we have used ‘Transfusion Practitioner’ as an all-encompassing term.