Delivery guides which will enable trusts and urology networks to deliver measurable improvements in the care of their patients have been developed by GIRFT, working alongside more than 60 clinicians.
The pathway delivery guides have been developed by urology groups for the GIRFT Academy, led by urologists Andrew Dickinson (University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust), Stephen Gordon (Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust), Richard Hindley (Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust) and Dominic Hodgson (Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust), alongside the GIRFT joint clinical leads for urology Kieran O’Flynn, John McGrath and Simon Harrison.
They are supported by the British Association of Urological Surgeons (BAUS), the British Association of Urological Nursing (BAUN) and the British Association of Day Surgery (BADS).
The guides set out best practice pathways alongside good practice points and case studies from NHS trusts, and have been developed for clinicians, service leads, commissioners and all involved in the delivery of urology services.
They are hosted on the GIRFT Academy Best Practice Library and focus on:
- Bladder cancer, where ensuring timely provision of effective treatments can in some cases limit recurrence, halt progression or even cure.
- Bladder outlet obstruction, which has seen an increase in the range of treatment options, improving outcomes but also increasing the complexity of patient decisions and treatment management.
- Acute stones, highlighting examples of services which perform best and have overcome difficulties to improve care for patients.
- Outpatient transformation, which addresses both the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the threat of global warming, including how the NHS uses technology to improve patient care and facilitate delivery of the net zero ambition of the NHS.
