Purpose
The overall objective of the Midlands Transfusion Practitioner Group is to support the activities of Transfusion Practitioners, enabling the Hospital Transfusion Committees to achieve its aims to promote safe transfusion practice in accordance with guidance and recommendations.
Objectives
- Promote safe and effective transfusion practice.
- Promote the sharing of learning experiences from both good practice and incidents/events/near misses.
- Reduce professional isolation by encouraging networking and mutual support, including additional support for newly appointed Transfusion Practitioners.
- Promote the role of the Transfusion Practitioner locally, regionally, and nationally. Feeding back to the regional group as required.
- Review and discuss transfusion related issues and National Directives
- Provide educational information / opportunities for Transfusion Practitioners - where possible and relevant invite external speakers.
- To participate in audits and surveys as required.
- Review National Comparative Audit.
- Update on current issues relating to the NHSBT service to hospitals and blood transfusion in general.
- Give feedback from local and national study days, conferences and regional meetings and discuss implications for practice.
- To, where possible, standardise the approach to implementation of new guidance/initiatives/education thus supporting the transfer of knowledge and skills as well as the transference of evidence of these.
- To actively seek information and guidance of existing and new treatments, processes, and procedures as individuals and as a group to ensure continued practice development and improvement.
- Providing a forum to discuss implications of new guidelines.
Membership
The Midlands Transfusion Practitioner Group will be open to Transfusion Practitioners in the Midlands, any healthcare professional in equivalent roles and the NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) Patient Blood Management Practitioner for the region.
Administrative support will be provided by the NHSBT Regional Transfusion Committee Administrator.
Outside speakers and other staff are welcome, by invitation only, with discussion of clinical issues and incidents remaining confidential within the forum members only.
Frequency of meetings
There will be 3 meetings per year. Face to face meetings will be held in a central location, to facilitate attendance, face-to-face meetings will not be hybrid. Virtual meetings will be held via MS TEAMs.
Term of Members
Chair and Deputy chair to be in post 2 years with a review at this point regarding expressions of interest for a new Chair or reappointment or extension of existing term.
Meeting will be chaired by the nominated representative / deputy chair. If both chair and deputy are unable to attend, a nominated representative will stand in.
Neither chair nor deputy chair is responsible for taking minutes. This duty is facilitated by NHSBT RTC Administrator. If the NHSBT RTC Administrator is absent, the role is rotated among Midlands Transfusion Practitioner members.
Quoracy
The formal meetings will be quorate providing a minimum of 5 Midlands RTC Trusts / organisations are present. Informal meetings held in between are not subject to these conditions.
Update: July 2025