In April 2024, 20 Health Care Professionals from across the UK became our fourth cohort for the Clinical Champions Programme for Prostate Cancer UK.
Our Clinical Champions are spearheading improvement projects that aim to transform care for people living with or affected by prostate cancer over the next 18 months.
If you want to get in contact with one of our Champions, please contact the team!
Douglas Black
Consultant Radiologist
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
Following his training in the west of Scotland, in 2020 Douglas was appointed as a Consultant Radiologist in Glasgow. His subspecialty is UroRadiology, with a particular interest in prostate MRI.
With the support and leadership training provided by the Prostate Cancer UK Clinical Champions programme, Douglas is excited to begin his project.
His aim is to improve outcomes for patients undergoing robotic assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP). Douglas will retrospectively compare preoperative staging with postoperative pathology to identify patients who were upstaged or had positive margins. In such cases, looking into factors which may have contributed (e.g., delay between MRI and surgery, type of biopsy, MRI quality, and patient factors such as ethnicity and deprivation). This will allow interventions to be made and potentially improve outcomes following RALP.
Douglas’s previous research interests have included the effects of body composition (determined by CT) on surgical outcomes.
Outside of radiology, he has a wife and three daughters (youngest one week old at the time of writing!) and is a keen runner.
Anne McKenna
Prostate Specialist Consultant Radiographer
Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Anne McKenna qualified as a Therapeutic Radiographer in 2005 with a BSc in Radiotherapy. During her career, Anne developed a strong interest in prostate cancer. In 2017 she gained an MSC qualification, with her dissertation focusing on the use of adaptive planning target volume (PTV) margins for prostate radiotherapy.
In her previous role as Research Lead Radiographer, she led on the technical implementation of national clinical trials within her local Trust as well as the local implementation of the PACE prostate radiotherapy trial, which is investigating delivering radiotherapy in 5 treatments as opposed to the standard 20.
Anne has a strong interest in research, becoming Principal Investigator for two trials - the first radiographer to do this in her Trust. Bowel and bladder preparation for prostate radiotherapy can be difficult for patients to manage causing anxiety and impacting on treatment delivery. Anne initiated a project to improve the patient experience by reducing the number of enemas patients need to use and the quantity of fluid patients drink prior to planning and treatment. This work has changed practice locally and has been presented nationally and internationally.
Following this Anne trained to become a Consultant Therapeutic Radiographer, including becoming a non-medical prescriber. In this role she takes responsibility for patients receiving radiotherapy for prostate cancer. She is responsible for the entire patient pathway, from consent clinics to prescribing radiotherapy and follow up.
During her Consultant Radiographer training, Anne observed excellent patient care and identified where improvements in follow up pathways and information giving at the end of radiotherapy could be made. Being on the Prostate Cancer UK Clinical Champions programme will allow Anne to further develop post treatment information and follow up care.
Hannah Doyle
Prostate Cancer Clinical Nurse Specialist
The Royal Marsden
Hannah is excited to be a Clinical Champion and is determined to improve men’s experiences. Her project involves engaging prostate cancer patients with support services to improve the quality of information and care that they receive.
Hannah joined The Royal Marsden in 2018 and became a Prostate Cancer Clinical Nurse Specialist in 2022. She started her nurse training in 2012 at King’s College London, qualifying in 2015 with a BSc (Hons). She then worked as an Anaesthetic Nurse Practitioner at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge before specialising in cancer care and SACT administration. She is currently completing an MSc in Advanced Clinical Practice in Cancer Care (including Independent Prescribing) via The Royal Marsden School and completed the Prostate Cancer UK Change and Innovators Programme last year in 2023.
She is passionate about increasing support for prostate cancer patients and optimising their engagement with this, particularly for those with metastatic disease and those suffering with erectile dysfunction. Hannah presented a poster abstract on this topic at the EAUN Meeting 2023 in Milan.
Hannah has led the facilitation of educational workshops at The Royal Marsden for men on hormone therapy and how to help manage the side effects. She is also currently collaborating with physiotherapists at the Trust to develop exercise programmes for prostate cancer patients to provide both physical and psychological support.
When not at work, Hannah enjoys doing arts & crafts, reading and dancing.
Suzanne Langley
Brachytherapy Nurse Specialist
Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust
Suzanne qualified as a staff nurse in 1995 and worked on a urology ward at the Royal Surrey, continuing until 2001, when she became a Specialist Urology Nurse concentrating mainly in Urodynamics and TWOC clinics. In 2003 Suzanne started working in bladder cancer, providing nurse led result clinics and bladder cancer treatments, and in 2005 completed a Flexible Cystoscopy training course and has been carrying these out ever since.
Sadly, Suzanne has a strong family history of Prostate Cancer, her grandfather (who was managed with hormones), her father who had EBRT and Brachytherapy boost in 2003 and her brother, who was diagnosed in 2019. This final diagnosis made Suzanne want to work in prostate cancer and to make a difference to men, improving patient care and raising awareness. She applied for the Brachytherapy nurse specialist role and was successful in this application and started in 2019. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, her Trust had a difficult few years with training and seeing and treating their patients. Suzanne now wants to raise awareness of prostate cancer and the importance of PSA surveillance and improving the pathways for her current patients.
Her project aims to improve the pathway for patients who develop a Urethral Stricture following radiation treatments for their prostate cancer. Currently the pathway involves a telephone clinic, followed by a Flow Rate Clinic, outpatient clinic, and then flexible cystoscopy and urethral dilatation or a GA procedure. Suzanne’s aim is to see the patients in a one stop clinic, and carry out a flexible cystoscopy and urethral dilatation, cutting the patient pathway from three or four visits to one, aiming to help ease symptoms and anxieties whilst helping the Trust.
Suzanne is completely delighted to be accepted for this cohort of Clinical Champions and really looks forward to learning from others and improving the outcomes for patients.
Tarek Al-Hammouri
Consultant Urologist
University College London Hospitals NHS Trust
Tarek is a Urology Consultant in Robotic Surgery at University College London Hospitals. He received fellowship training in prostate diagnostics, Focal Therapy and Robotic Surgery, focusing on optimising functional outcomes post-surgery while aiming to cure cancer. His novel urethral-sparing techniques improve immediate continence recovery, enabling patients to resume normal activities sooner and enhancing their quality of life.
With extensive experience in clinical practice, pioneering research, and community engagement, Tarek is dedicated to enhancing prostate cancer management. He hopes to leverage these experiences as a Clinical Champion.
Recognising that prostate cancer disproportionately affects African-Caribbean men, Tarek and his team developed The Prostate Buddy Project. This initiative aims to provide tailored support to patients and enhance their engagement with culturally competent healthcare services, reducing treatment delays.
The project also includes awareness campaigns to emphasise early detection and treatment. These efforts will empower patients with comprehensive information and support. Over the next 18 months, the goal is to reduce undertreatment rates, particularly within the Black community. The project also aims to establish regional and national collaborations, focusing on improved treatment pathways and holistic patient support across the UK.
Ibrahim Ibrahim
Urology Registrar
NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde
Ibrahim Ibrahim is a urology registrar based in Glasgow who is focussing on prostate cancer in his final years of training, aspiring to become a consultant robotic and urological surgeon. Ibrahim studied in Dundee and commenced his surgical training in Glasgow, with a year out as a Clinical Lead in outpatient transformation working with eConsult in London. He is passionate about improving men's health and beyond his clinical and surgical practice, Ibrahim aims to have a wider impact on men’s health.
Ibrahim's project will focus on improving awareness of men's health, focussing on all the various aspects of prostate cancer from symptoms and diagnostic evaluation to investigations, management and patient journeys. Although awareness has improved with the work of Prostate Cancer UK, up to 35% of patients present too late in Scotland and Ibrahim aims to improve awareness digitally by utilising social networks and short-span videos to reach the wider public who spend more time online.
Although Ibrahim is fascinated by and is progressing with the surgical removal of prostate cancer, he is very much involved in multiple research projects encompassing prostate cancer. Ibrahim has a Masters of Surgical Sciences from the University of Edinburgh and has a background as an NHS Clinical Entrepreneur where Ibrahim built and sold digital platforms internationally to patients and hospitals.
Huw Gill
Senior Therapeutic Radiographer
Mount Vernon Cancer Centre
Having spent over a decade in management, Huw embarked on a transformative journey, graduating from the University of Hertfordshire in 2022 to pursue their passion as a Therapeutic Radiographer at Mount Vernon Cancer Centre. In this dynamic role, he evolved into a senior position in radiotherapy with a particularly focus of brachytherapy. Huw's expertise spans the treatment of a diverse patient portfolio, including HDR Prostate, HDR monotherapy, and LDR Seeds patients, where he provides comprehensive support from pre-admission to post-treatment.
Inspired by his dissertation, which delved into the experiences of Therapeutic Radiographers advising LGBTQ+ patients on sexual relations, Huw’s planned project is to establish a male sexual health clinic. The research highlighted a significant gap in sexual health support for those battling prostate cancer. Through this project, Huw aims to create a safe and inclusive space, offering support at every stage of the radiotherapy pathway.
In tandem with professional endeavours, Huw is pursuing MSc modules, with a latest focus on exploring the integration of MRI within the radiotherapy process. Outside of work, he is a dedicated gym enthusiast working towards various fitness goals and a strong love of travel, with a most recent backpacking adventure taking him through the Balkans.
Hilary Baker
Macmillan Lead CNS for Uro-oncology
University College London Hospitals
Hilary, an experienced Registered Nurse, graduated from University College London in 1983. Her career spans diverse surgical and urology settings in both the NHS and private sector. In September 2014, she assumed the role of Lead Clinical Nurse Specialist for Uro-oncology at University College London Hospitals. Complementing her clinical expertise, Hilary earned a BSc (Hons) in Cancer and Palliative Care in 2010, followed by an MSc in Cancer Studies from Oxford Brookes University in 2016, where she achieved distinctions for her dissertations. Registered as a Specialist Practitioner with the NMC, Hilary's commitment to excellence extends beyond clinical practice.
Throughout her career, Hilary has actively contributed to shaping national nursing guidelines, notably in areas such as the management of stable prostate cancer, intravesical chemotherapy, and flexible cystoscopies. She has served as Secretary for the British Association for Urology Nurses and holds roles as an ambassador for the UK Oncology Nursing Society, Trustee for Fight Bladder Cancer, and National Cancer Peer reviewer. Additionally, she was recently appointed the first nurse trustee for The Urology Fund.
At UCLH Trust and NCLCA, Hilary provides essential managerial and clinical leadership within the Uro-oncology service. She oversees the planning and delivery of cancer services, ensuring personalised care pathways for patients and addressing their holistic needs. As Lead CNS for Uro-oncology, she delivers specialized urological cancer care, leads a team of seventeen CNSs, and plays a pivotal role in setting standards, developing patient pathways, and fostering collaboration across the London Cancer Alliance.
Parallelly, the Macmillan Cancer CNS Development Lead role emerges as a crucial initiative to tackle pressing challenges within the London cancer nursing workforce. Amidst escalating demands for cancer services and the complexity of patient needs, this 36-month programme, spearheaded by a dedicated project team, aims to introduce innovative Cancer CNS Development Lead (CDL) roles across London. These CDLs will champion the CNS role, provide structured support to new CNSs, and implement the ACCEND program to enhance nurse leadership and innovation. The initiative targets critical objectives, including accelerating the development of new CNSs, counteracting the effects of retiring CNSs, enhancing cancer nursing supply, and fortifying workforce resilience and sustainability. By proactively addressing these challenges, the programme aspires to ensure that individuals living with cancer receive personalised care and support while catalysing long-term workforce development and innovation in cancer nursing across London and potentially nationwide. Hilary's dedication to patient-focused care and her multifaceted contributions to oncology nursing make her a valuable asset to the healthcare community.
In addition to her professional endeavours, Hilary leads a fulfilling personal life. Residing in Buckinghamshire, she finds relaxation in the countryside through her passion for dog walking. An avid swimmer, she dedicates time to regular swim sessions and maintains her fitness through Pilates classes. Family plays a central role in her life; married with a 25-year-old daughter, they share a love for European travel. Hilary is also a keen cook, and cherishes moments with friends and family, which enriches her life beyond her professional achievements.
Tom O'Hare
Consultant Urological Surgeon
South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Tom is a recently appointed Consultant Urological Surgeon at South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. His primary areas of interest are optimising diagnostics and treatments for prostate and bladder cancer while minimising potential negative impacts to patients. Tom completed higher specialty training in the Northeast of England followed by a fellowship in Robotic Surgery and Pelvic Oncology in the Wirral. During this training he completed an MSc. in Human Factors in Patient Safety. This made Tom acutely aware of how much non-clinical factors can impact outcomes for patients. He's also a member of the Human Factors and Civility Faculty at South Tees.
The north-east of England has the highest rates of cancer in the United Kingdom as well as a high proportion of late presenting prostate cancers. Much of this is undoubtedly driven by relatively high levels of deprivation in the area. Coupled with lower populations in the Northeast compared to other regions of the country; this generally translates to smaller, less prestigious, less well funded NHS trusts. This in turn can limit what services the Trust can provide.
Tom’s aim is to try to address some of this health inequality by making local anaesthetic transperineal biopsy the standard for prostate cancer diagnostics in the Tees Valley. A secondary aim of his will be to try and streamline the prostate cancer diagnostics pathway in the Tees Valley.
Tom lives in Norton with his fiancée and one year old daughter. Outside of work, Tom is interested in sports, martial arts, reading, amateur astronomy and have recently begun writing a science fiction short story.
Tom is extremely grateful to have been selected for the Prostate Cancer UK Clinical Champions programme and is very excited to engage with and learn from new colleagues.
Jamie Leask
Senior Urology Registrar
Greater Glasgow and Clyde
Jamie is a senior urology registrar based in the West of Scotland. He has recently declared an interest in robotic surgery and will be gaining progressively more exposure to the management of prostate cancer patients in the final years of his training. Prior to attending medical school in Dundee, he received both undergraduate and postgraduate research qualifications in Glasgow. His master’s degree focussed on cancer research and provided him with both the theoretical underpinnings of cancer, as well as insight into translational research that can have a meaningful impact on patient care. His more recent clinical training has reinforced the importance of a patient-centred and holistic approach to care.
As part of his time on the Clinical Champions programme, Jamie will be looking at ways to optimise functional outcomes following robotic prostatectomy, with a focus on urinary incontinence.
Outside of work, he has recently become a dad and enjoys spending time with – and catching up on sleep stolen by – his 2-month-old son.
Jacqueline Ogg
Consultant Therapeutic Radiographer (Prostate)
NHS Grampian
Jacqueline qualified as a Therapeutic Radiographer in 2002, graduating from the University of Ulster with a BSc (Hons) Therapeutic Radiographer, and completed an MSc Enhanced Radiotherapy and Oncology with Sheffield Hallam University, in 2022. They commenced employment as a Radiographer in the radiotherapy department, Aberdeen Royal Infirmary shortly after completing undergraduate studies. They were appointed to the role of Trainee Consultant Radiographer in Prostate Cancer in 2019, and successfully transitioned to Consultant following completion of a three-year academic and work based learning programme.
Jacqueline thoroughly enjoys their current role and is involved in all aspects of prostate radiotherapy from pre-treatment to follow up care and collaborating with the multidisciplinary team. The role of Consultant Radiographer has allowed Jacqueline to specialise on prostate cancer care and integrate expert clinical practice, leadership skills, and research and service development projects to improve the local prostate radiotherapy pathway and improve patient outcomes.
They are involved in local and national research projects to advance prostate cancer care and are a member of the Scottish Radiographers Research group which aims to share knowledge and best practice across the five Scottish Radiotherapy centres. Jacqueline is a strong advocate of radiographer led research and professional development and has taken on the clinical supervisor role of radiographer MSc dissertations to support and empower therapeutic radiographers to engage in research and contribute to the current radiotherapy evidence base.
Their personal research interests include Patient Reported Outcome measures (PROMS), and how these can be used as a tool for understanding the adverse effects of external beam radiotherapy. They hope to explore how to best incorporate these into routine prostate radiotherapy follow up care, providing clinicians with the patient’s perspectives of symptoms and how these are impacting quality of life.
Jacqueline’s improvement project also aims to develop clinical guidelines with local specialist teams to have a more streamlined approach to management of radiotherapy late effects and improve quality of life survivorship.
Ayman Ali
Consultant Urological and Robotic Surgeon
Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Trust
Ayman is a consultant Urological and Robotic Surgeon at the Royal United Hospitals NHS Trust in Bath. He has been highly invested in minimally invasive urological surgery including robotic surgery. He has successfully introduced robotic urological surgery in the RUH Bath when he operated the first RARP there after purchasing the Davinci Xi robot and contributed to establishment of the service there.
He graduated in 2011 in Egypt with an Excellent with Honours grade and obtained a diploma in Total Quality Management in Healthcare Reform from the American University in Cairo.
As a top medical graduate, he has been offered urological residency in Theodor Bilharz institute one of the top teaching institutes in Germany where he did his basic and advanced urological training. He did his master’s degree at Ain Shams University with focus on research of castration resistant prostate cancer in 2015. He then completed his advanced urological training in 2019 and finished his doctorate degree in the same University with research on minimally invasive endourological surgeries for treatment of stones, mini PCNL and RIRS. He was appointed as a consultant and clinical lecturer in early 2020 after completion of his advanced training.
Ayman also did a clinical fellowship in Heidelberg university in Germany in 2018 in Laparoscopic and robotic urology.
He moved to the UK in 2020 where he undertook two robotic urology fellowships, the first at Royal Surrey Hospital at Guildford, one of the highest volume pelvic oncology robotic centres followed by gaining comprehensive experience in robotic urology in both pelvic and upper renal tract in his second fellowship at Portsmouth University Hospitals. He joined the urology team in Bath as a consultant in early 2023.
He has been a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England since 2020, has several publications in peer reviewed journals and has presented at the World Congress of Endourology and the American Urological Association meetings.
His improvement project will be the introduction of same day discharge after robotic assisted radical prostatectomy (SDD-RARP) with aims to reduce the length of hospital stay without compromising patient safety or satisfaction. Early discharge will increase bed availability in hospitals, will reduce the risk of infection and enhance quicker recovery for the patients in more familiar surroundings.
Dumitru Samian
Locum Consultant Urologist
Countess of Chester Hospital
Dumitru is a patient focused physician specialised in Urology. In addition to his extensive training, Dumitru has actively sought out courses focused on prostate MRI reading, prostate biopsy techniques, and focal therapy for prostate cancer.
Dumitru demonstrates a keen awareness of his patients' emotional well-being and has proactively addressed their concerns. Recognising that patients often experience heightened anxiety surrounding medical investigations, particularly when appointments are scheduled in rapid succession, he has taken steps to mitigate this stress. By arranging telephone consultations with a dedicated support worker, he not only provides immediate relief to anxious patients but also identifies and resolves any potential issues that could lead to appointment cancellations on the day of the procedure, ensuring a smoother and more supportive patient experience overall.
As part of his project Dumitru aims to establish a framework to ensure patients have certainty about ruling out prostate cancer upon discharge to primary care. Involving specialised nurse clinics to arrange necessary investigations and coordinate with primary care and urology consultants, especially amid current challenges of long waiting times and staffing shortages in both primary and secondary care settings.
Emma Chappel
Lead Urology Oncology CNS
Mid & South Essex Foundation Trust
Emma has dedicated her nursing career to the specialism of Urology. Having qualified in 1997, her career began on a Urology ward and continues to the present day, becoming Lead Urology Oncology Clinical Nurse Specialist.
Emma leads a team of clinical nurse specialists, all of whom play a role in running nurse led services for men with prostate cancer.
Emma has an MSc in Health Care Practice, is a Non-Medical Prescriber, and is a Nurse Cystoscopist.
Alongside her clinical work Emma is the current Vice President of the British Association of Urological Nurses (BAUN). Her term of office begins in November 2024.
Emma became a BAUN Trustee 7 years ago and served as a part of the Executive Trustee team for 5 years as Honorary Secretary. Her clinical role and that with BAUN, means she is involved with the strategic development of Urological services not only locally but regionally & nationally.
Emma is passionate about the needs of patients and constantly strives to improve and change practices to ensure continuation of gold standard of care.
As part of the Clinical Champions programme, she is driven to improve the Faster Diagnostic Pathway at her Trust, to improve faster diagnosis of prostate cancer for patients.
Clare Herbert
Therapy Radiographer
University Hospital Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust
Clare is a Therapy Radiographer working at the Bristol Haematology and Oncology Centre. Their involvement with prostate patients has been from initial appointment for a planning scan through to the end of radiotherapy treatment, Clare has observed patient consternation with the preparation procedures and frustration with side effects. Treating prostate patients allows radiographers to develop a collaborative relationship with the patient over a period of weeks. It also shows how some prostate patients struggle to understand information about the treatment, to follow instructions and look after themselves. Clare is driven by everyday encounters with prostate patients who are struggling not only with their side effects but feelings of disempowerment and are wondering how to get their disparate needs met or even identifying what those needs are.
Clare wants to help develop a prehabilitation service to ease the treatment pathway and empower patients by giving them information and skills to look after themselves during treatment and beyond. The On-treatment Review module within her masters caused Clare to investigate Health Literacy and Patient Activation – qualities that can be used by the patients and staff to optimise many aspects of healthcare, not just radiotherapy treatment. As NHS services become even more stretched and patients struggle to access healthcare services, helping patients become proficient at navigating the health system has become even more pertinent.
Clare’s previous career was as a painting's conservator by way of a Fine Art degree and then a Master’s Degree in Fine Art Conservation. They worked in some beautiful houses but also building sites getting soaked and clearing out guano 50 feet up scaffolding. Whilst enormously rewarding, they realised that radiotherapy provided the technical challenges alongside patient care, an aspect that Clare has become increasingly passionate about.
Flora Rodger
Consultant Urological Surgeon
Greater Glasgow and Clyde
Flora Rodger is a consultant urological surgeon working at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital. She specialised in Robotic Radical Prostatectomy after having completed her training in the West of Scotland Region. She is an honorary clinical lecturer for the University of Glasgow. She has built on her robotic skills by seeking overseas placements at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre and the ORSI Academy. She is a winner of the Keith Yates medal and Shackman award. She has gained further RALP experience through a Prostate Scotland Awarded clinical visit to University College London Hospitals (UCLH).
She has completed the Prostate Cancer UK Change and Innovators Programme and plans to build on this with the Clinical Champions programme.
Her project will focus on the safety and governance of transition from a regionalised robotic prostatectomy service to a new model aimed at improving accessibility for patients across the west of Scotland. It will involve support for MDT services and collaborative working across centres to ensure high quality procedure planning is maintained. There will also be a focus on functional outcome reporting and shared learning. The aim is to ensure the benefits of a multicentre service are achieved without compromising on the high standards of care they demand for patients undergoing radical treatment.
Reena Kakodkar
Prostate Pathway Nurse Specialist
Northampton General Hospital
Reena completed Nursing and Midwifery training in India. She was always interested in caring for cancer patients and secured a job in India’s premier cancer hospital (Tata Memorial Hospital) as a newly qualified Nurse. There, she worked in the surgical intensive care unit and gained extensive experience looking after patients with cancer having major surgery.
She moved to the UK in 1996 with her husband and two-month-old baby. She was passionate about her nursing career and wanted to continue this here. In 2001, she successfully completed the “Return to Professional Practice Course” and worked in post anaesthetic recovery for ten years. Reena was particularly interested in pain management as she had not used advanced pain management treatments after major surgery in India while working in the ICU. She completed the pain management module to learn more about pain.
To pursue her interest in cancer care, she took a Chemotherapy Nurse Practitioner job at Lister Hospital and completed a degree module course on “Chemotherapy Practice Development”. To further develop her career, in 2015, Reena took the urology oncology band six role at Milton Keynes Hospital on a temporary basis. She developed an interest in men’s health, particularly prostate cancer, and decided to continue to work as a Urology Oncology CNS. Reena was a Macmillan CNS and supported patients with cancer in their hospital journey from diagnosis. She decided to learn about early diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer, studied diagnostic prostate pathways and research related to this pathway, such as the “PROMIS'' study. She supported her colleagues and surgeons in developing the GP-led MRI service to speed up the RAPID pathway. She has managed the bladder instillation clinic and gained experience in stable PSA and active surveillance clinics.
In 2018, Reena worked as a band seven Pain Specialist Nurse in Circle MSK Bedford. She was involved in delivering the "Pain Management Educational Programme" based on cognitive behavioural therapy. That experience helped her in the HNA clinic to advise patients regarding stress, anxiety management and a healthy lifestyle.
In January 2020, Reena joined Northampton General Hospital as a “Prostate Pathway Specialist Nurse”, where she led the Prostate Cancer diagnostic service. Reena manages 2ww RAPID prostate cancer, follow-up clinic, negative results and LATP prostate biopsy clinic. She has developed this service further into a nurse-led prostate diagnostic service, which has significantly improved patient experience, quality of care and standard of services. Her organisation has received the “Patient Experience Award” for this service. She is passionate and committed to improving the services for prostate cancer patients. Reena has attended the Prostate Cancer UK Active Surveillance Programme to develop her leadership qualities.
Reena would like to develop her local RAPID diagnostic pathway further by improving the quality of 2ww referrals, demand and capacity, and diagnostic and treatment protocol for elderly patients to improve their care, quality of life, and experience.
Kal Kaur
Urology Nurse Consultant
The Royal Free NHS Foundation Trust
Kaljit is a Urology Nurse with 22 years of experience, working in inpatient and acute areas of the speciality for 15 years and prostate cancer diagnostics specifically for the last 7 years, with roles in the north-east of England and London. Having completed an MSc in Advanced Nursing Kal demonstrates autonomous practice and clinical leadership.
Kal is currently a Urology Nurse consultant specialising in nurse-led prostate cancer diagnostics, with a remit to work locally and nationally to improve services and influence this space. Kal has had the privilege to work on several initiatives across London, enhancing and developing diagnostic pathways in response to patient experience and the national cancer agenda.
Kal is driven, ambitious and innovative. The aim of their project is to execute the transition of a new nurse-led prostate diagnostic service in a high-volume centre that has traditionally been delivered by consultants. Kal believes with the implementation of the FDS and the rapidly changing healthcare landscape where the prevalence of prostate cancer is forecast to increase, creative and dynamic ways of strategic workforce planning is urgently required. Showcasing timely healthcare that is cost effective with reduced variation, whist maintaining high clinical standards is the vision of the new nurse model and Kal is excited about utilising the Clinical Champions Programme to support them through this journey.
In addition to service improvement, Kal is passionate about patient experience and intends to engage the digital health landscape by collaborating with technology experts to modernise how to communicate with patients throughout their diagnostic journey exploring apps and podcasts to share information and evaluate experience.
Overall Kal enjoys a good work-life balance and outside of work this includes travelling, hiking, and eating her way around London!
Rachel Hubbard
UroRadiologist and Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals
Rachel is a UroRadiologist and Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals. She undertook her subspecialty UroRadiology training at University College Hospitals London and did her core surgical training (with a urology theme) prior to this at Cambridge.
Rachel is keen, alongside her colleagues at the University of Sheffield, to look at ways to reduce the geographical variations in healthcare and reducing health inequalities based on socio-economic factors. Her proposed project looks at addressing these factors by focussing on patient interactions. Through focus groups and liaising with patients she would seek to identify key barriers in local men accessing a prompt diagnosis of prostate cancer and whether a public health campaign or increasing public awareness could help engage these men to access care sooner and prevent the increased numbers that present with late high stage disease. If the results show this, she will look at help designing / promoting a public health campaign locally in a manner which stimulates interest from the local population and helps them engage with the local services.
When not contouring prostates / hanging out with her favourite Urologists, you will often find Rachel high up a mountain, baking a tasty treat or being self-appointed CEO of fun at her local church youth group.
Fraser Currie
GP Registrar (final year)
Moorland Medical Centre, Leek
Fraser is a final year GP registrar working in the West Midlands but was born and raised in Cornwall. He is married to a senior urology registrar and together have a young son and two beautiful golden retrievers. Having worked in both rural and inner-city environments as a doctor, Fraser has encountered the effects of health inequalities, and his proposed project looks at tackling one of these.
Fraser’s project is aimed increasing prostate cancer awareness in the farming and agricultural community, due to a possible link between the industry and an increase in prostate cancer risk. The project aims to target this community with an education and awareness campaign, with the overall goal to increase testing and diagnosis in this community who conventionally make less use of the healthcare profession than others outside of the industry.
His own interest in prostate cancer comes from working in general practice, where he feels the understanding of the disease is often mixed and contains misconceptions. Through his practice, Fraser aims to educate and inform patients as well as taking care of their healthcare needs.
Fraser was selected for a role at Keele University as one of two general practice registrars, helping to educate medical students, write exam questions and redesign the curriculum. He remains involved in marking Longitudinal Patient Essays and providing feedback to students.
Away from work, Fraser enjoys spending time with family, fixing cars, tinkering with electronics, and going to see live music.
His aim is to become an expert in a field of medicine, while maintaining generalist knowledge. The Prostate Cancer Clinical Champions programme will allow him to meet likeminded individuals, attend talks by leading experts and to provide a platform for him to launch his own project.
