Nurses’ experience establishing a nurse‑led bladder cancer surveillance flexible cystoscopy service

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this article is to describe and evaluate the processes involved in setting up a nurse‑led bladder cancer surveillance flexible cystoscopy service.

Setting: Day Surgery Unit, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, Australia.

Subjects: Registered nurses, follow‑up bladder cancer patients and the urological team.

Primary argument: As a result of inefficiencies in current practice including, waiting times, utilisation of doctors’ time, poor documentation and communication and patients being lost to follow‑up the existing system for bladder cancer surveillance was questioned.

Conclusion: This experience has resulted in the creation of a training‑tool with competencies, patient pathways, guidelines and protocols. In turn there was a noticeable reduction in waiting times and improved communication and documentation resulting in a robust nurse‑ led bladder cancer surveillance service.