Our Impact
Here, you'll discover the powerful impact of our Improvement Programmes on improving healthcare and the lives of men affected by prostate cancer.
Empowering healthcare professionals to improve the prostate cancer pathway
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men, with 52,000 men diagnosed per year on average.
Yet, across the UK, men don’t have the same access to treatment and support - and in some areas we’re continuing to see high rates of men being diagnosed at a later stage.
With the NHS facing a range of pressures, prostate cancer services need to be able to adapt and improve to meet the needs of men across the UK who are living with the disease.
Our Improvement Programmes are designed to help healthcare professionals make tangible improvements throughout the prostate cancer pathway – from diagnosis to treatment and support. Our focus is on developing and empowering healthcare professionals to be leaders of change.
Driving impact through our Clinical Champions programme
A total of 21 healthcare professionals completed our 2023/24 Clinical Champions programme, graduating in November. Their projects covered a wide range of disciplines, including impactful initiatives to improve patients’ bone health, establish prehab and rehab clinics, and introduce robotic surgery work.
These projects have positively impacted more than 17,400 men – and this number is set to rise as our Clinical Champions continue the important work they do.
Here are just a few of the practical benefits our Clinical Champions have introduced in healthcare organisations this year:
- Reduced urgent care admissions
- Earlier diagnosis
- Improved patient compliance to prevent wasted appointments
- Lower readmission rates
- Lower infection rates from biopsies
- Cost savings from same-day discharge after prostatectomy
- Reduced waiting times
- Reduced CO2 emissions
Every single one of our Clinical Champions said they felt more confident having taken part in the programme – and they all said they’d recommend us to a colleague. 8 of our newest cohort applied based on recommendations from our current Champions.
I’ve never come across another programme like this. I rave about it to anyone who will listen
Clinical Champions Case Studies
Here are just a few of the projects implemented by this years Clinical Champions graduates. These professionals have taken the initiative to drive meaningful change and improvement within their clinical settings, demonstrating exceptional leadership in identifying areas for enhancement, implementing innovative solutions, and creating a culture of continuous improvement in their teams.
Grace
Prostate Cancer - Advanced Nurse Practitioner
Grace's project aimed to enhance the diagnostic pathway for prostate cancer by expanding the role of allied nurse practitioners (ANPs) within a London-based trust. Grace's nurse-led FDS pathway streamlined the process, enabling transperineal (TP) biopsy by day nine following a telephone assessment, MRI scan, and review. With additional funding, two ANPs were appointed in 2024 to work under the lead urologist, managing key diagnostic steps, including assessments, MRI reviews, biopsy clinics, and histology results. The long-term impact includes a more efficient, nurse-led model improving patient experience, faster diagnoses, and sustainable workforce development within urological care.
Learn more about Grace’s project in this NHS providers article.
Matteo Massanova
Consultant Urologist and Robotic Pelvic Surgeon
Matteo established a pre-habilitation surgical school for patients undergoing robot-assisted radical prostatectomy in his Trust. The programme educated patients on recovery, focusing on urinary continence and erectile function rehabilitation.
Key objectives included improving patient understanding of the procedure, enhancing self-management skills, and reducing anxiety. It aimed to lower readmission rates, ease healthcare costs, and improve outcomes in continence and sexual function.
Matteo’s project led to fewer A&E admissions, cost savings, and 100% patient satisfaction.
Qizhi Huang
General Practioner
Qizhi’s project looked at improving patient and clinical awareness of bone health for patients undergoing long-term ADT (androgen deprivation therapy). Long term patient impacts include increased risk of osteoporosis and fragility fractures. Qizhi, using lots of patient engagement, developed educational resources for patients, and a toolkit for primary care clinicians to triage patient risk and help long-term management of bone care. This effective intervention can be scaled up within primary care and expanded during medication/cancer reviews.
Qizhi's data shows of 55,000 men diagnosed every year, 33% of them will require ADT; with 39% of those (over 7,000) having a moderate risk of fragility fracture or osteoporosis. Through awareness, early diagnosis and treatment of patient bone health, Qizhi estimates 90% of hip fractures would be prevented, which could save up to £1 million. For the patient, it improves their quality of life, reduces hospital stays and enables them to keep appropriately active during treatment.
Clinical Champions Hub
In December, we were excited to launch our new Clinical Champions Hub, an online education platform created to support our leaders in driving meaningful improvements within their teams and organisations. This platform offers a range of helpful resources, including educational materials, tools, and best practices, all designed to equip leaders with the knowledge and skills needed to lead positive change in clinical settings.
Enhancing care for thousands of men through our Short Programmes.
Our 20-week Short Programmes
Alongside our Clinical Champions programme, we also completed two separate short programmes in 2024 – with a third, the Sexual Wellbeing programme, finishing in February 2025.
10 clinicians completed our Clinical Leads programme, reporting improvements in diagnosis, functional outcomes, patient flow and a reduction in waiting times.
8 clinicians completed our Primary Care programme, reporting an increase in early diagnosis of clinically significant cancers, cost savings on early detection, increased awareness of the PSA blood test and practice appointments being used more effectively.
Across these two programmes, the changes introduced by healthcare professionals positively impacted more than 3,500 men.
This has been such a brilliant programme covering areas that NHS training doesn’t cover.
Short Programme Case Studies
These case studies showcase the powerful impact of our 20-week leadership programs, which help professionals enhance patient care, streamline clinical processes, and drive positive transformation across diverse clinical environments. We hope these stories offer valuable insights and inspire others who are eager to lead change and make a meaningful difference in their own practices.
Richard Brunt
General Practioner
Richard's project aimed to improve early diagnosis and management of prostate cancer in Orkney by addressing barriers within both the local community and healthcare system. Through community engagement, public awareness campaigns, and collaboration with healthcare providers, the project sought to ensure more consistent information, improved diagnostic pathways, and increased access to testing and specialist care. The impact included greater public awareness, earlier diagnosis, and a cultural shift within both the community and clinical teams towards more proactive discussions about men’s health and better management of prostate cancer concerns. Long-term outcomes included the wider adoption of best practices across local GP surgeries and enhanced participation in prostate cancer research.
Sam Sutcliffe
Care Coordinator
Sam’s project aimed to improve patient engagement in prostate cancer awareness and testing by addressing barriers such as difficulty accessing appointments, digital exclusion, language challenges, and health literacy. By implementing alternative communication methods and targeted education on risk factors, symptoms, and PSA testing, the project ensured a broader reach to diverse patient groups. As a result, approximately 3,000 patients completed a PSA blood test in the previous year, with systems now in place to identify and invite eligible patients. The long-term impact will be the establishment of a sustained culture within practices that encourages men to proactively seek testing, even if asymptomatic.
Maj Shabbir
Consultant Urologist
Maj’s project aimed to enhance team working and clinical efficiency within the NHS while maintaining high standards of care. It optimised the pathway for patients with prostate cancer at Guy’s Hospital with the development of the Post Prostatectomy Service and Multidisciplinary Team, which streamlined and standardised aftercare based on the latest evidenced based medicine, improving patient experiences and resource allocation. The project has since gone on to directly impact 1500 men post-surgery. The team's aim is to improve functional outcomes and preoperative counselling through the development of a data-driven nomogram. With interest from multiple NHS Trusts, its model has the potential for widespread adoption, driving lasting improvements in urology services.
Strengthening our alumni community
In 2024 we continued to build on our relationship with our growing alumni community, which has now become an essential collaborative partnership.
We continue to communicate with our alumni through a monthly e-newsletter, keeping them informed of our ongoing work and celebrating other graduates’ latest achievements. We hosted our first alumni event, bringing together some of our graduates to reflect on their leadership journeys and the impact they’ve made since joining our programmes, with our second event planned for May 2025.
Expanding our Clinical Advisory Group
At the beginning of the year we recruited four new members to our Clinical Advisory Group (CAG) from our alumni community - Sarah Dewhurst, Bunmi Olajide, Leann McLoughlin and Oliver Hulson. A further seven members joined the group towards the end of 2024, bringing a wealth of experience and expertise: Maria Innes, Wissam Abou-Chedid, Ben Lamb, Alex Rawlinson, Lucy Simmons, Debashis Sarkar and Jaimin Bhatt.
Three meetings of the Clinical Advisory Group were held during the year, addressing a wide range of critical and emerging topics in prostate cancer care.
A significant milestone for the group was the publication of its first paper, which appeared in the British Journal of General Practice in March. This paper highlighted the limitations of the digital rectal examination as a standalone screening tool for prostate cancer and emphasised multi-parametric MRI, now prioritised in NICE guidelines, for its greater diagnostic accuracy and ability to guide clinical decision-making. This publication highlights the CAG's role in advancing evidence-based practices and influencing national standards in prostate cancer care.
