The benefits to nurse-led telephone follow-up for prostate cancer

Prostate cancer is an important and increasing health problem for urologists, and one which places significant demands on healthcare establishments for improvements in service provision and maintaining quality. Guidelines for diagnosing and managing prostate cancer in the UK are set out by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (2008). Diagnosis includes a number of elements, of which the Prostatic Specific Antigen (PSA) test is highly significant both in the diagnosis process and in monitoring patients following treatment. Ongoing monitoring of service provision within the outpatients' department highlighted an urgent need for improvements in the care received by prostate cancer patients. There is evidence (Department of Health (DH), 2007) to suggest that in undertaking initiatives aimed at improving service delivery and patient satisfaction, the skills of the multidisciplinary team are paramount (specifically the specialist nurse) in the provision of a nurse-led service. Over time, demands for nurse-led services have increased. In particular, telephone consultations have been shown to provide significant improvements in service delivery. A nurse-led PSA telephone follow-up clinic was developed and implemented in 2005 to increase efficiency within the uro-oncology outpatient clinic. Between August 2005 and March, 2009, a total of 67 patients were recruited into the clinic, 46 of which are still being followed-up at the time of writing. To evaluate patient satisfaction with this nurse-led initiative, a questionnaire was developed and a telephone interview conducted. Results indicate an overall satisfaction with the telephone follow-up service with 39 (90%) patients stating that they are very satisfied with the service provided.