A SCHEME aimed at reducing prostate cancer diagnosis times has been launched in Fife.

The Cancer Research UK-funded initiative is part of a new programme called Test, Evidence, Transition (TET) which hopes to enable patients to access treatment more quickly – providing the best chance of tackling the disease successfully.

TET is a major Cancer Research UK programme which aims to accelerate innovations in the health system while reducing inequalities experienced by patients in cancer care.

The aim is to free up GP time, improve the patient experience and prevent delays in diagnosis which is crucial in tackling the disease when it is most treatable.

READ MORE: Torryburn pupils raise charity funds after nursery worker's tumour diagnosis

The pathway for prostate diagnosis is complex and often requires multiple appointments and waits for investigations and monitoring.

Under the new system in Fife, the process will be undertaken by advanced nurse practitioners who will be dedicated to prostate diagnosis, hopefully speeding up the process and freeing up consultants.

Once patients are referred to the specialist team, they will then be in the care of a dedicated nurse-led team and patient navigators who will assess patients, arrange scans, book biopsies and refer patients quickly to a cancer care team for treatment where necessary.

The scheme comes as a similar pilot project aiming to reduce time for breast cancer diagnosis has been introduced in the Forth Valley area.

Both projects will be evaluated by researchers at the University of Stirling who will work with the NHS clinical teams to evaluate and develop the pathways over the next 18 months.

READ MORE: MSP to raise Dunfermline bus concerns with Transport Secretary

If successful, the new pathways could be adopted permanently in Forth Valley and Fife as well as elsewhere in Scotland and the rest of the UK.

Jane Thomson, Advanced Clinical Nurse Specialist, Urology NHS Fife, explained: “In Fife, we identified an opportunity to reduce delays from referral to diagnosis for people referred urgently with suspected prostate cancer.

“The development of a new advanced clinical nurse specialist rapid access diagnostic clinic for people with an urgent suspected prostate cancer has the potential to allow quicker access to diagnostic appointments, diagnostic tests, as well as earlier treatment decisions and management.”

Dr Erica Gadsby, University of Stirling lead on the project, said: “In NHS Forth Valley, we hope this new patient pathway will remove the need for that initial GP appointment, therefore freeing up valuable GP time, reducing inconvenience to the patient and speeding up the referral to the breast clinic.

“Currently, the prostate diagnosis pathway is one of the more complex ones and patients are experiencing delays. By using consultant time in the most effective way, we hope to be able to reduce waiting times at the treatment end.

“This nurse-led approach is used in other NHS health boards but hasn’t yet been fully evaluated. By collecting data and feedback, we will be looking closely at the impact of the new pathways on waiting times, patient experience and also on health inequalities.”

Naser Turabi, Director of Evidence and Implementation at Cancer Research UK, added: “We are delighted to support these new projects and hope taking a patient-focused approach will reap enormous benefits to the patients experiencing these new pathways in Scotland.

“If patients in these schemes are diagnosed faster and are able to access treatment more quickly improving their outcomes, then we hope this pathway could be available permanently to patients in the pilot areas - and adopted elsewhere in Scotland and across the UK.”

TET has received Cancer Research UK funding of £900,000 for pilots in the first year, including these two in Scotland, with each project working in conjunction with local NHS teams to find new ways to improve both patient experience and cancer outcomes.