JEDDAH: In a pioneering initiative in the Middle East, the oncology department at King Salman Specialist Hospital (KSSH) has launched an initiative in cooperation with the Hail Health Cluster to deliver chemotherapy directly to the homes of oncology patients. Launched on Jan. 7, 2022, the home delivery service provides an at-home medical care team to administer the doses. The initiative targets the elderly, individuals with disabilities, and those in rural areas far from a hospital. This allows them the comfort of taking their therapy at home with their families, which in turn contributes to improving the patient’s psychological condition and their acceptance of treatment. Medical oncology specialist Dr. Ali Al-Bayer told Arab News: “We’ve seen patients on chemotherapy preferring a short duration in hospital rather than a long infusion of the therapy.” “Chemotherapy is given over a long period of time ranging from months to years, depending on the case, of course, and essentially that could put a strain on the healing journey of the patient,” Dr. Al-Bayer said. “Repeated admission to the hospital for chemotherapy means less time for these individuals to spend with their loved ones. So in my medical opinion this service can be very useful, especially for selective cases and their families.” The initiative has already had a positive response from the beneficiaries who have approved of the quality of facilities provided to patients by KSSH and Hail Health Cluster. According to the Saudi Center for Government Communication (CGC), the greatest precautions are taken to maintain the efficiency of the at-home chemotherapy service, where some patients at first did not believe that the chemotherapy doses would be delivered to their door without their having to go to the hospital.  “There’s major variation between chemotherapy protocols from one case to another. They range from one hour up to five days in duration, depending on the case. I can say that the average is about 4 hours,” said Dr. Al-Bayer. The KSSH’s Oncology department assigns oncologists to assess the condition of each patient, with the first chemotherapy session being conducted in the hospital.  The department then dispenses chemotherapy doses in carefully prepared containers, which are brought by the home medical team to the patient’s home. The team consists of an oncologist, a nurse and a home medicine leader. They monitor the patient’s condition before, during and after the administration of chemotherapy doses. They do not leave until they are satisfied with the patient’s condition and are assured there are no complications. In March of 2021, the governor of Hail, Prince Abdulaziz bin Saad, inaugurated numerous programs at KSSH in Hail to boost its health care, including a chemotherapy preparation unit and interventional radiology, as reported by the Saudi Press Agency.