We are a based at Waters Meeting Health Centre, with additional support from a consultant haematologist (blood specialist) at the Royal Bolton Hospital.

Services offered

The treatment programmes involve a comprehensive introduction to anticoagulant medications, drug counselling, monitoring and dose adjustment, plus advice to patients, carers and professionals on matters relating to anticoagulant therapy (ACT).

When patients attend clinic, their international normalised ratio (INR) will be tested to measure how fast their blood clots and make sure that the dosage of medication being taken is correct. A one-stop-shop approach means that patients leave the clinic with their current INR, their drug dose and a date for their next appointment.

The service also provides Vitamin K to patients who have a very high INR (greater than 8). This means that they have an increased risk of bleeding as their blood will not always clot when it should. The provision of Vitamin K reduces the risk of bleeding and therefore the number of hospital attendances.

We support patients with special needs who are referred to us, by assessing their individual needs and making every attempt to meet them.

We can, for example:

• Arrange home visits for patients who are housebound and need to access our services.
• Provide phone translators during appointments for non-English speaking patients.
• Provide a daily ACT dose chart in extra-large font for patients with poor vision.
• Consider cultural needs, such as the provision of home testing to Muslim women for a short period after childbirth.
• Work closely with families and carers to improve the safety of patients with mental health or compliance problems.

Referrals can be made by your GP or Consultant and can be emailed directly. All referrals should include a minimum of:

• Anticoagulant reason
• Duration of treatment
• Target INR and INR range
• Recent medical history
• Current medication

Referrals must be signed and dated by the referring clinician.

GPs can send referrals electronically to boh-tr.rbhanticoagulant@nhs.net