Introducing the SURE Unit
We’ve teamed up with Friends of ANCHOR on a joint £2.5m fundraising appeal to create a clinical unit designed to improve diagnosis times for urological cancers.
The SURE Unit, formerly the Rapid Diagnostic Centre (RDC), will be located within Aberdeen Royal Infirmary and will enable more people with a suspected urological cancer to be seen quicker, and to have all their scans and diagnostic tests carried out during a single visit to hospital.
The unit’s name is an acronym for Swift Urological Response and Evaluation.
Plans for the unit, which includes a fit-out, new services and extra staffing, are not currently covered by the NHS, prompting UCAN and Friends of ANCHOR to step in.
One in every five men will be diagnosed with a urological cancer, which includes prostate, penis and testicular cancer as well as kidney and bladder. If cancer is diagnosed too late, it can advance to a stage where it cannot be cured – and current waiting times are too long.
The combined fundraising effort by UCAN and Friends of ANCHOR will set up the facility, which will be used by both men and women.
As well as furnishing the unit, the fundraising will allow for the purchase of diagnostic equipment – and it will ensure additional staff are drafted in, removing the bottlenecks and streamlining the patient pathway. The joint commitment by the charities will stand for the first three years of operation, after which NHS Grampian will take on the running costs.
The SURE Unit will further enhance Aberdeen Royal Infirmary as a hub of excellence for the diagnosis and treatment of urological cancers, while making more effective use of clinicians’ time and helping attract the best medical practitioners to our region.
Surgery capacity will be improved thanks to increased adoption of an innovative new laser treatment which can be done using local anaesthetic rather than general. The procedure, known as TULA, takes 15 minutes and patients can go home the same day.
Friends of ANCHOR, which is known for its wellbeing support within the ANCHOR Unit as well as its funding commitment to equipment and research, will have a daily presence in the unit.
Thank you for your support, which makes this unique collaboration for patients possible.
Let’s improve cancer outcomes in the North of Scotland.
Donate simply and safely via Justgiving or scan the QR code below.
For a cash donation or bank transfer, please contact Gayle Stephen on g.stephen@abdn.ac.uk or call 01224 557950 for the bank details. Alternatively, if you or your company would like a presentation on our plans please contact Gayle using the contact details above or download an information leaflet here.
