The Transplant Unit has a worldwide reputation for pioneering work. Over the past thirty years, the facilities have been developed in order to provide good-quality care to patients who come to us.
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Inpatient care
This is centred on Ward C9, which has 22 beds. Also located on this floor, but managed and staffed separately, is the Transplant High-Dependency Unit, which has three beds and provides pre- and post-operative care to transplant patients. The Unit has full monitoring facilities, plus negative-pressure ventilation. A fully equipped side room also provides the opportunity to care for patients who require isolation facilities.
There are two transplant-funded beds on the general Intensive Care Unit (ICU). |
Outpatient care
Two outpatient clinics are held weekly for pre- and postoperative liver transplant patients. One clinic is consultant led, and the other is nurse led and focuses on health-promotion aspects.
Two outpatient clinics are held weekly for pre- and postoperative renal transplant patients. One clinic is consultant led and the other is nurse led. Surgical assessment clinics are held at various hospitals throughout East Anglia in order to provide our regional referring hospitals with a local service. Operating theatre
There is a dedicated operating theatre for transplant surgery. 
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The multidisciplinary transplant team comprises the following:
Ward C9 staff:
High-Dependency Unit staff:
Transplant Unit support staff:
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counsellor
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donor procurement co-ordinators (also working with Papworth Hospital)
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information manager
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Italian translator
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kidney recipient co-ordinators
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liver recipient co-ordinators
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medical secretaries
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research nurses
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Small-bowel recipient co-ordinator
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Transplant manager.
Consultant medical staff:
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Gastroenterologists: Dr Steve Middleton and Dr Jeremy Woodward
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Hepatologists: Dr Graeme Alexander, Dr Mike Allison, Dr Alex Gimson, Dr Bill Griffiths
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Nephrologists: Dr Afzal Chaudhry, Dr Menna Clatworthy, Dr John Firth, Dr David Jayne, Dr Nick Pritchard, Dr Ken Smith,
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Transplant surgeons: Mr Andrew Butler, Mr Paul Gibbs, Mr Emmanuel Huguet, Mr Neville Jamieson, Mr Gavin Pettigrew, Mr Raaj Praseedom, Mr Chris Watson
We use a shared-care approach involving both surgeons and physicians.
Other medical and surgical staff:
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clinical fellows in transplant surgery
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specialist registrars in hepatology, nephrology, transplant surgery
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senior house officers in transplant surgery, hepatology, nephrology.
Other multidisciplinary team members:
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dietician
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pharmacist
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physiotherapist.
We are fortunate to have a number of visitors from overseas to the Unit, who are with us to learn depending upon their experience and contractual obligations. They may also assist with surgical procedures.
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the first liver transplant outside the USA (1968)
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the introduction of the immunosuppressant drug cyclosporin into clinical practice (1978)
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the pre-clinical development of the immunosuppressant drugs sirolimus and tacrolimus (1980s)
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the world’s first combined heart, lung and liver transplant, with Papworth Hospital (1986)
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the first combined liver and pancreas transplant (1988)
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the first small-bowel transplant in the UK (1992)
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the first multivisceral transplant in the UK (1994).
The Transplant Unit in Cambridge has a considerable reputation for training, which attracts a very high quality of staff at all levels. We maintain very active programmes in organ transplantation; however, clinical innovation has remained an essential thread throughout the history of transplantation at Addenbrooke’s.
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The Unit supports an environment where nurses work as part of an established team and where professional development is encouraged. The resources available for support and development are extensive and include:
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English National Board (ENB) courses (transplant, intensive care, teaching and assessing)
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orientation programme for new staff
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individual training and professional advice
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care packages (respiratory, pulmonary artery catheters, haemofiltration, arterial blood sampling, blood-gas analysis)
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appraisal and mentoring system
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clinical supervision
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weekly teaching programme
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rotational opportunities between high-dependency and ward areas.
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The Addenbrooke’s Transplant Unit exists to provide high-quality specialist care. The Unit aims to support the patient and their family, around the time of their transplant or other period of illness. The teams working in the Unit believe that all patients should be cared for as equal individuals, and specialist nursing care is offered to those in need of it.
The success of all care depends upon accurate and appropriate intervention. The staff aim to use their skills, strength and knowledge to promote and develop patients' confidence in their own ability to affect their health status in the long term.
Care is planned, implemented and evaluated using a systematic approach. All care is based on individual assessment and sound rationale and, when appropriate research exists, it is utilised. The teams working in the Unit believe that patients should participate in discussions about their health or illness management and are afforded privacy, respect, confidentiality and honesty. All members of staff on the Transplant Unit work together for the benefit of the patient in a friendly and supportive environment. |
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