Nurse-led treatment follow-up for prostate cancer patients

Abstract

Many patients on a prostate cancer active surveillance pathway were receiving incorrect follow-up. Working as a team, the urology consultants and the nursing team undertook a project to provide a more robust pathway based on patients' risk level. This resulted in a nurse-led clinic for low-risk patients and a consultant-led clinic for high-risk patients. As a result, patient capacity was increased, waiting times were reduced and patient safety was improved.

In this article…

• How a nurse identified and raised concerns about a treatment follow-up clinic

• How the teams changed the pathway to improve capacity and patient safety

• The advantages of the new pathway for patients and heath professionals

Nursing Times Awards

This initiative won the Ingrid Fuchs Award for Cancer Nursing category in the 2023 Nursing Times Awards.

To find out more about the Nursing Times Awards go to awards.nursingtimes.net

Key points

A prostate cancer clinic's patients were receiving inconsistent and inadequate follow-up

A nurse raised concerns with managers and consultants

The pathway was changed so nurses now run an active surveillance clinic for low-risk patients

This improved patient safety and ensured evidence-based practice

It reduced the waiting list for prostate cancer patients on the active surveillance pathway