Hospital's new one stop shop for men with suspected prostate cancer

This approach to prostate cancer diagnosis is being taken at Lincoln County Hospital, after an enthusiastic urology nurse specialist agreed to undertake additional training to support the service.

Urology clinical nurse specialist Zina Bojin has been trained to carry out the biopsy, meaning that they can be done on the same day as the consultant appointment for those patients who want to.

She said: “This prevents the patients having to come back to hospital on numerous occasions, and also means that they get the results much more quickly.

“This ensures treatment can start sooner if necessary, and puts their minds at ease more quickly. Anxiety can really build up over a couple of weeks if you have to wait for the procedure and then the results, and think you may have cancer.

“I’m very pleased that the urology department has been able to work so well together to set this up, as it has great benefits for our patients as well as for the department itself, as it gets them dealt with more quickly, so we can start treatment with them if necessary.

“It is not suitable for all patients to have their biopsy on the same day, but we have been able to set up one clinic a week in this way, where we can see up to three patients.”

Patient, Michael Harrison, 76, from Owmby by Spital, used the clinic in October 2016.

He said: “The nurse was brilliant. As I have to drive for 12 miles to get to Lincoln hospital it was better for me to not have to come back again. I was in agreement that they could do it and it went very smoothly. I was pleased with it.”