Alumni newsletter - December 2024
This page contains all the latest news and updates from the Improvement Programmes Team.
Congratulations to cohort 3!
“We explored the challenges and opportunities that exist in prostate cancer, and had the kind of inspiring and informative discussions that just don't happen when you're sat at a desk.”
Joe Woollcott - Head of Health Policy, Education and Awareness
Meet Living Potential
October is Black History Month and at Prostate Cancer UK we’re committed to building an inclusive approach that recognises the unique needs of Black men. We believe this awareness is key to addressing health inequalities.
In healthcare, one size does not fit all. It is especially important to recognise this when it comes to speaking to Black men about prostate cancer. It’s not just about respect, it’s also about cultural sensitivity, which is a critical element in building trust, improving engagement, and ultimately saving lives.
Despite 1 in 4 Black men being diagnosed with prostate cancer, many are reluctant to seek early screening. Engaging Black men about their health, especially on prostate cancer, means more than just sharing clinical information. It needs an understanding of cultural barriers, of historical mistrust in healthcare, and of the particular ways that views of masculinity are affected by health issues. Cultural stereotyping and societal expectations mean many Black men don't want to discuss their diagnosis or seek support outside their family, mates and close community, especially when cancer affects intimate parts of the body, creating a significant barrier to seeking help and having an impact on their mental health.
For Black men, the stigma can be felt more deeply due to additional socio-cultural pressures to uphold hegemonic masculine standards within their communities, such as: being strong, being independent, being a leader and a provider, and having an active sex life. To tackle the taboos surrounding prostate cancer within Black communities, it’s important to share factual, relatable stories told by Black men about the side effects of treatment, such as how it affects their sex life, to help men recognise that they are not alone and empower them to seek the care they need.
For healthcare professionals, being aware of these cultural nuances is essential to delivering care for Black men, approaching conversations with empathy to increase trust which will lead to better health outcomes.
Ultimately, this approach will foster a cultural shift where Black men feel confident to engage in discussions about their health, check their risk and ask for a test if they choose to and navigate the emotional challenges of a prostate cancer diagnosis.
Why this matters now
Black men in the UK are under-represented in cancer screening trials, despite being at higher risk of prostate cancer. By being culturally sensitive in your clinical practice you’re not only addressing the gap in care, but actively playing a part in reducing health inequalities.
It’s essential that Black men feel understood and respected when they engage with healthcare professionals. And by being culturally inclusive , clinicians can play a pivotal role in changing outcomes for this high-risk group.
What you can do today
- Build in culturally relevant resources when speaking to Black men, offering information tailored to Black men, and ensuring the language you use reflects the cultural nuances and addresses common concerns.
- Involving Black men in the decision-making process about their health, which empowers them to take control of their own health journey.
- Continuous education and training on cultural competence and bias in clinical care. The more you understand about the communities you serve, the more effective your care will be.
Article written by Health Services, Equity & Improvement Intern; Funmilola Idowu
Our work and partnership with Prostate Cancer UK and the Clinical Champions' community is particularly important to us because it uniquely and demonstrably develops leaders and leadership through and for real clinical innovation. There are very few programmes that genuinely see leadership development as the catalyst for clinical change. Prostate Cancer UK is leading the way in creating leaders for current and future service improvement.
Also congratulations to Professor Nikhil Vasdev, who last week was awarded an ‘Outstanding Contribution’ at the Sixth International Prostate Cancer Symposium and World Congress of Urologic Oncology in New York. This award recognises Prof Vasdev’s invaluable contributions in research, AI, MRI and Robotic Prostatectomy Planning, which was part of his Clinical Champions project.
Congratulations Professor Vasdev!
Improvement Programmes: our impact in 2024
Our Improvement Programmes are designed to directly support healthcare professionals along the prostate cancer pathway to lead tangible improvements within diagnosis, treatment and support for men with prostate cancer. Our focus is on developing and empowering healthcare professionals to become leaders of change.
Collectively over the last four years, our programmes have seen more than 142,000 men directly impacted by our healthcare professionals’ projects.
In 2024, we saw the completion of our third cohort of Clinical Champions along with two short programmes, with a third due to be completed in February 2025. We’ve also developed an end-of-life and palliative care toolkit for clinicians to use and have built the foundations for our upcoming QI work.
We completed two separate short programmes in 2024 - Clinical Leads and Primary Care - and have completed three of the four modules for our Sexual Wellbeing programme.
Collectively, we’ve already seen a positive impact on around 3,500 men with prostate cancer -and this is 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 our 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 Clinical Champions can expand and build on their learning.
Nearly 18,000 men have been directly impacted by their projects.
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.
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, we've taken big steps to improve the way we communicate and collaborate with you - our incredible alumni community.
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.
“Looking back over the past 12 months makes me unbelievably proud of the incredible amount of work that the Improvement Programmes Team has done, and really shines a light on the impact that our programmes have on healthcare professionals, the work they do for men, and on the power of collaboration. Looking ahead to 2025, I’m excited to see what more we can achieve together"
Save the date for the Specialists Conference 2025!
Exciting educational opportunities for you with our upcoming conference! Happening on 9am-12pm on Wednesday 26 and Thursday 27 March 2025.
