Administrative services (appointments and letters)

Administrative Services book appointments for all our patients, including:

• All outpatient appointments that patients have with our clinical teams for review throughout their care with us.
• All treatment appointments (such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy) – these are made by the Scheduling Teams in Administrative Services. They also book all the supporting appointments such as for blood tests.

Where possible, we will schedule your appointments to reduce the number of separate hospital visits you have to make. We want to make it as easy as possible for you – we know many patients are managing multiple hospital appointments, sometimes in different hospitals. 

We also need to make sure that all appointments are made correctly to help our clinical services run as efficiently as possible.

Letters to patients usually come from a team in Administrative Services. This includes:

• Letters, text messages or emails about your appointments.
• Letters or emails about your cancer care – for example, updates on your diagnosis, condition or treatment. Our clinical teams dictate these letters and our secretarial team type them up.

Sending letters like these helps us to make sure that patients are fully updated at all stages of their care with us. If you stay on one of our inpatient wards, you will also receive a clinical update letter afterwards from the ward team who cared for you.

When you visit any of our sites, you will be greeted by our Reception team. They will explain where you need to go, check that we have the correct contact details for you and help with any other queries you may have. 

If you have a query they can’t answer, they will help you get the information you need.

Our team processes all new patient referrals to The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre. They monitor our performance against the National Cancer Waiting Time standards, ensuring patients are seen as quickly as possible.

The team hosts a number of regional multidisciplinary team (MDT) meetings, where specialists from across the region review patients and agree treatment plans. 

Our scanning bureau team handles the digitisation of patient records, ensuring they are available on our electronic patient record system for clinical teams to view in preparation for appointments and treatment planning.

Our medical secretaries provide administrative support to consultants, nurse specialists, and other clinicians. They produce clinical correspondence, manage patient queries, and support clinic management to ensure appointment capacity is used effectively.

Our patient service clerks carry out pre-clinic checks to ensure all required information is available ahead of outpatient appointments. They also manage appointment-related calls – supporting patients with queries and ensuring clear communication.

Our schedulers coordinate outpatient appointments and key treatment pathways, including first chemotherapy bookings. This includes managing pre-assessments, blood tests, and treatment appointments to support timely and efficient patient care.

Our reception team provides front of house support at our Wirral and Halton sites, welcoming patients, supporting clinic flow, and ensuring a positive experience on arrival.

Our team provides scheduling support for all chemotherapy appointments across multiple sites, including Liverpool, Aintree, Ormskirk, Wirral (Delamere), St Helens, and Halton, ensuring patients are booked efficiently across the network.

In addition, our team provides a reception service at Liverpool, Paddington, and Aintree, supporting patient flow and providing a positive first point of contact.

Our haematology scheduling team supports the Haematology service, coordinating both outpatient and daycase appointments on the day ward to ensure timely and effective care.

The team also includes our haematology secretaries, who provide administrative and correspondence support to clinical teams and patients.

Our team manages patient planned admissions for Clatterbridge Cancer Centre – Liverpool. This includes procedures within theatres and interventional radiology, ensuring patients are appropriately booked and prepared for their forthcoming procedure.

Our radiotherapy team coordinates and manages the full radiotherapy pathway, including planning, treatment delivery, and on treatment reviews, ensuring a seamless patient journey.

Our radiology team is responsible for booking and coordinating diagnostic imaging, including CT, ultrasound, MRI, nuclear medicine scans and some PET-CT. This includes scheduling for Clatterbridge patients across all sites and patients attending Paddington Community Diagnostic Centre, supporting both Clatterbridge and non-Clatterbridge patients.