Practical guidance for NHS clinicians and managers who care for people with kidney cancer is now available.
The guidance – a collaboration between Getting It Right First Time, the British Association of Urological Surgeons (BAUS) and the British Association of Urological Nurses (BAUN) –describes the key features of a good kidney cancer service and lists the quality actions teams can take to bridge any gaps they identify.
Urology: Towards better care for patients with kidney cancer includes a delivery checklist and useful case studies illustrating good practice for teams to emulate. Shorter versions of the full guidance are also available in a pathway flow diagram and an abbreviated outline document.
Kidney Cancer UK also worked with GIRFT to develop example patient information leaflets to support the guide.
Kidney cancer is the seventh most common cancer in adults in the UK, with around 13,000 new cases diagnosed each year. Survival rates have seen only small increases in the past 50 years, relative to other cancers.
The Kidney Cancer UK Quality Performance Audit published in June 2022 found substantial unwarranted variation across the UK in the main indicators of quality and performance, meaning that kidney cancer is an area where there are significant opportunities for improvement of patient outcomes.
The new guide and pathway – which was developed by a working party of 25 experts in the field – aims to equip clinicians, service leads, commissioners and all involved in delivering kidney cancer services with the tools to deliver measurable improvements in the care of their patients.
Guide to Urological Investigation Units and Guide to Urology Area Networks
GIRFT, BAUS and BAUN have also worked collaboratively on a new Guide to Urological Investigation Units (UIU) and another Guide to Urology Area Networks.
The UIU guide describes the key features of a UIU, allowing clinicians and managers to perform a ‘stock-take’ of their current service and what would be required to deliver a contemporary outpatient urological service.
In particular, it describes the facilities needed, services that can be provided and the workforce ideally suited to providing those services. Case studies and example business planning materials are included to support the development and implementation of a UIU.
The UAN guide describes the key features of a functioning Urology Area Network (UAN), including the types of relationships, governance and financial arrangements that need to be put in place for a successful UAN to function effectively and the potential benefits and adverse effects of operating as a network.
