North West Region

Q. How are cycles administered and recorded in cases where multiple cycles are dispensed at once?

A. If a Trust has concerns, then specific scenarios should be sent to the SACT team for clinical review. The number of cycles administered should reflect the total number dispensed, and the cycle length should be the sum of those cycles.

Q. Concern was raised about paediatric centres not using live administration systems and their ability to meet timing requirements.

A. Direct discussions with paediatric centres had not occurred but the panel agreed to address these issues in a separate meeting and include relevant FAQs for broader support.

Q. How do Trusts handle cycles prescribed before the transition to SACT v4.0?

A. Re-prescribing is not required, but new submissions must be in SACT v4.0 format, with mandatory fields such as curative and non-curative line of treatment.

Q. Have system suppliers been engaged with regards change?

A. Ongoing engagement with all system suppliers has taken place, including regular meetings and briefings. Trusts were encouraged to contact their suppliers early to understand delivery timelines and raise any issues.

Q. How do Trusts and SACT handle supplier delays?

A. Trusts unable to submit data in SACT v4.0 due to supplier delays should inform their NDRS (DLM) promptly and reassurance was provided that no penalties would be applied in such cases, distinguishing this from situations where Trusts have not implemented available updates.

Q. What are the testing and validation processes for v4.0?

A. All new data files using SACT v4.0 must be tested with NDRS before full submission, with Data Liaison Managers (DLMs) coordinating the process and the data loading team validating files to ensure compliance before API upload.

Q. What is the role of Data Liaison Managers (DLMs)

A. The DLMs were identified as key contacts for regional support, assisting Trusts with queries, coordinating testing, and facilitating communication between Trusts, system suppliers, and the NDRS team.

Q. Could detailed explanations be provided as to the differences between workflow for regimen, cycle, and dose modification sections within the SACT v4.0 data set.

A. The panel clarified that:

• regimen modification is for upfront dose changes before treatment starts
• cycle modification records drugs omitted from a cycle
• dose modification captures changes during treatment
• with each section completed as the treatment pathway progresses without needing to revisit previous sections.