Alumni newsletter - December 2024

We completed two separate short programmes in 2024; Clinical Leads and Primary Care and have completed 3 out of the 4 modules for our Sexual Wellbeing programme.

Collectively we have already seen a positive impact on around 3500 men with prostate cancer, with this set to rise.

We constantly strive to improve and adapt our programme and use feedback from participants to create the best learning experience. This year, we adapted our short programme content for Sexual Wellbeing to include practical support and information, and delivered informative sessions supported by Prostate Cancer UK Specialist Nurses.

 “This has been such a brilliant programme covering areas that NHS training doesn’t cover.”

Sally Cook, Prostate Pathway Nurse Specialist

In November, we celebrated the graduation of 21 Clinicians. We’ve also recently built our online learning platform where Champions can expand and build on their learning.

Projects:

• Services to improve care for men with stage 3 and 4 prostate cancers
• Improving bone health
• Introducing a cardiovascular risk score
• Education programmes for patients
• Increasing access
• Introducing deprivation as a clinical risk factor
• Prehab and rehab clinics established
• Moving from TR biopsy to TP biopsy
• Introducing robotic surgery to a Trust

Impacts on men and/or services:

• Reduction in urgent care admissions
• Earlier diagnosis
• Enhancing patient awareness and allowing informed decision making
• Improving patient compliance to prevent wasted appointments
• Lowering readmission rates
• Lower infections rates from biopsies – no longer prescribing antibiotics
• Reduction in patient anxiety
• One Trust taken from Special Measures to a Tier 1 Trust (transition to a nurse-led faster diagnostics pathway).
• £400 is saved per patient when they are sent home on the same day of prostatectomy
• Potential for £14k savings per patient that can avoid hip fracture due to bone issues following prostate cancer treatment.
• 33% of those with metastatic prostate cancer will die of cardiovascular disease – this can be significantly reduced if cardiovascular risk scoring is introduced and actively considered/monitored within prostate cancer treatment.
• The introduction of a one-stop clinic has reduced wait times to approximately 15-20 days
• Savings on CO2 emissions due to self-removal of catheter introduction at Royal Surrey, and the introduction of robotic surgery at Swansea which saves patients from having to travel to Cardiff.

 Nearly 18,000 men have been directly impacted by their projects.

Impact on participants:

• 100% feel more confident because of the programme
• 100% of participants answered YES to the question: Do you feel an increase in confidence and credibility when discussing your project with others as Clinical Champion?
• 100% would recommend us to a colleague.

 “I've never come across another programme like this. I rave about it to anyone who will listen.”

Sarah Brown, Men’s Health Practitioner

In the past year, our relationship with the Alumni community has continued to grow in a multitude of ways, developing into an essential collaborative partnership.

This is in the form of:

• Alumni newsletter
• Alumni event
• Online Champions Hub
• Champions presenting at short programmes, internal and external conferences
• Contributing to our Black Men’s Health Advisory Group and Clinical Advisory Group

This year, we held three Clinical Advisory Group meetings, addressing a wide range of critical and emerging topics in prostate cancer care. Some of the key discussions included:

• PSA testing guidelines and practices.
• Promoting exercise as medicine in cancer care.
• Expanding the role of diagnostic radiographers in the prostate cancer pathway.
• Addressing barriers to men seeking health interventions in prostate cancer.
• Improving health information on BRCA genetic testing.
• Analysing the impact of social demographics on urological cancer diagnoses.

A significant milestone for the group was the publication of its first paper in March 2024 in the British Journal of General Practice (BJGP). This paper highlighted the limitations of the digital rectal examination (DRE) as a standalone screening tool for prostate cancer.