Urology surgery school goes virtual to help prostate cancer patients

A ‘surgery school’ has gone virtual to help provide extra support to prostate cancer patients ahead of planned surgery at NNUH.

A project by the urology team at NNUH to improve patient experience was launched at the end of 2019 to prepare patients due to undergo robotic-assisted radical prostatectomies.

As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the seminars and presentations from the multi-disciplinary team have gone virtual to help reduce anxiety and provide additional support for patients who are due to have their prostate removed.

The online surgery school has presentations on pre-operative assessment, what to expect on the day, recovery, physiotherapy, and the experiences of patients.

Helen Walker, Urology Clinical Nurse Specialist, said: “Surgery school is for patients who are thinking of or are on the list to have their prostate removed because of prostate cancer. It is to help them prepare and to have the knowledge they need to help them through their journey.

Because of the pandemic, we haven’t been able to run the seminars in person. We have however managed to make a series of helpful and informative videos, delivered by the medical team that patients will encounter when they attend the hospital. The videos should contain all the information from the surgery school seminars, and will hopefully help in putting patients minds at ease as they are preparing to come to hospital for their surgery.”