Patient Blood Management - South West - Terms of Reference

Purpose:

To provide a multidisciplinary PBM working group that reports to the South West Regional Transfusion Committee (SW RTC), collaborating on regional work, providing education and a network of support for PBM within the Southwest region.  

The group was formed in 2015 by John Faulds and superseded the Blood Conservation Group. 

Aims and Objectives:

 To provide education and support on the 4 pillars of PBM within the Southwest region. 

  • To share best practice techniques within the region, promoting safe and effective patient blood management. 
  • To collaborate on PBM projects where applicable and standardise PBM practice where possible. 
  • To identify areas of clinical practice improvement for PBM to ensure continued practice development and improvement. 
  • To work with the SW RTC in the implementation of new guidelines and safety initiatives. 

Membership & Structure:

  • Clinical staff working in hospitals in the southwest region that have an association with PBM are eligible for membership.
  • Health care professionals working in an equivalent role in National Health Service Blood and Transplant (NHSBT within the southwest).
  • The group requires a Chair, +/- Clinical Lead (if Chair is not a Clinician) and Administrator.
  • There are no restrictions on member numbers but attendance to meetings must be confirmed prior to meeting dates. 
  • There is currently no patient representation on this group.
  • Outside speakers and other staff members are welcome by invitation but may be asked to leave for discussions of clinical incidents or other sensitive confidential issues. 
  • There is no specific length of time for membership, however hospitals must update the administrator with any changes to PBM contacts. 
  • Members of the group agree for their professional details (name, place of work, email address) to be shared on the SW PBMG SharePoint page.

Accountability:

  • The Chair/ Clinical lead are responsible for reporting the workstream to the SW RTC and providing updates on the SW RTC newsletter. 
  • The positions of Chair/Clinical lead should be reviewed/reappointed after 3 years, with consideration of any expressions of interest for a new leadership.
  • Group members are responsible for cascading information to their hospital. 
  • Confidentiality and Freedom of Information - all members must take particular care of group papers / electronic files in their possession prior to and after meetings. Any patient identifiable information should be disposed of in accordance with NHS policy.
  • SharePoint access will be to group members only and individual access managed by the group administrator. 
  • Information on Share Point will be reviewed as to relevance 6 monthly by the Chair/ Clinical lead and Administrator. 

Document control/ sharing: 

  •  Minutes from each meeting will be circulated to the group and uploaded to the SharePoint and JPAC website. 
  • The chair is responsible for taking the minutes. The duty is facilitated by the NHSBT administrator, and in their absence is rotated amongst the members. 
  • Members of the group can discuss, share, and access information on SharePoint.  Members agree that any documents/policies/information shared on this platform are accurate at the time of posting.
  • Chat forum function available on the SharePoint website +/- group email for discussion purposes. 

Review:

  • The group will review the relevance and value of its workstream at each meeting, and when reporting back to the SWRTC.
  • ToRs to be reviewed 2 yearly.

Quoracy/Meetings:

  • 3 meetings per year to be held. 
  • Where possible 1 meeting per year to be face to face to support networking.
  • 1 meeting per year to be informal – no agenda.
  • The Chair/ Clinical Lead and Administrator will organise dates/ locations of the meetings and send relevant information to the group.
  • An Agenda will be circulated at least 2 weeks prior to the meeting.
  • Invitation to the meetings will be by invitation only and with the aims and objectives of the group in mind.
  • For any group decisions, documented responses must be gathered/recorded from at least 6 trusts.
  • Informal meetings are not subject to these conditions.  

 

Definition of terms:

  • PBM – Patient Blood Management
  • RTC – Regional Transfusion Committee