Special clinic to give cancer results gains national recognition

The clinic – part of the hospital’s urology service – was praised for its approach to informing patients of cancer diagnoses following a national peer review.

The hospital launched the clinic about 18 months ago and in January was visited by a Urology Service National Peer Review Team, which concluded the concept should be recommended as national good practice.

“We felt it was inappropriate to be breaking bad news to patients in the context of routine – and normally busy – urology outpatients’ clinics,” said urology cancer lead clinician Mo Al-Sudani.

“So we set up the specialist clinic in a quiet room at the treatment centre where patients who have just received their cancer diagnosis can be seen in a small clinic by a consultant and a cancer nurse specialist.

“This means we are able to discuss the diagnosis, further investigations, possible courses of treatment and give them information about their condition and what to expect.”