Two of the north-east’s leading cancer charities have teamed up to create a unit designed to improve diagnosis times for urological cancers.
UCAN and Friends of ANCHOR have joined forces to raise the £2.5m needed to open a one-stop diagnostic centre for people with symptoms of 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.
The ambitious target of £2.5m needs to be raised by the end of the year, with the aim of opening the base in January.
UCAN launched its fundraising effort in April this year, and has already secured £400,000. Now Friends of ANCHOR has pledged to match the fundraising as a 50% partner for the project – with the £143,000 raised at the charity’s recent Gala Golf Event supporting the project.
Friends of ANCHOR’s chairman Sir Jim Milne said: “We’re delighted to be working with UCAN in a unique collaboration aimed at changing the story for people who are diagnosed with a urological cancer in the north of Scotland.
“Too many people are waiting too long for treatment and we’re determined to help change that. This new unit will be an international standard, one-stop facility for anyone with symptoms of a suspected urological cancer.”
The charity’s chief executive Sarah-Jane Hogg added: “At Friends of ANCHOR it’s often the tangible services and support that people see whilst in the hospital but our funding commitments extend to early detection as well, and we’ve provided technology, equipment and research funding through the years.”
The SURE Unit will enable crucial early detection and it will also be a place of support and holistic care for patients.
“There are a significant number of people throughout our region who have to travel from far afield, often on numerous occasions, to meet all the various appointments that are involved in obtaining a diagnosis for their symptoms. To be able to reduce that travel to just one appointment for a large number of patients, instead of four of five visits, is a huge benefit and reduces stress too.”
UCAN Chair and ARI urological consultant Justine Royle said the SURE Unit will help double the number of patients who can be treated in the urological unit.
She said: “The centre aims to significantly reduce the time to diagnosis, which will improve treatment outcomes and reduce anxiety for patients and their families.
“There has been a 50% increase in the number of people referred with a suspected urological cancer in the last five years, and the current service provisions is not equipped to deal with the demand.
“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.”
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 Friends of ANCHOR and UCAN 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.
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.
Sarah-Jane Hogg, added: “By joining forces we can ensure the SURE Unit opens as early as January 2025, and once open, we’ll be able to offer our practical and emotional support services to complement the exemplary care given by UCAN’s specialist nurses.
“UCAN is a charity we’ve had a long-standing relationship with since its founding days and there’s a real synergy given the hand-in-glove nature of our funding and operations within NHS Grampian. I have no doubt that this closer way of working can only benefit the oncology patients we collectively exist to serve.”
