NHS Forth Valley is celebrating reduced waiting times for diagnostic scans and urology treatment, after they dropped by 22 per cent between April and September 2024.
Thanks to the ongoing development of innovative advanced clinical roles within local radiology and nursing teams, the trust is making strides in patient care, increasing capacity and reducing waiting times.
NHS Forth Valley, which provides healthcare services in the Clackmannanshire, Falkirk and Stirling areas of Scotland, refers to these roles as Advanced Radiology Practitioners (ARPs) and Advanced Nurse Practitioners (ANPs), in their communications.
The advanced practitioners in radiology are highly educated, trained and developed radiographers who have played a “key role” in meeting growing demand in the region.
'A dramatic decrease'
NHS Forth Valley’s Diagnostic Imaging service scans approximately 190,000 patients each year, and is supported by a dedicated team of 109 clinical staff, including 26 Advanced Practitioners, Sonographers, Radiographers, and Assistant Practitioners – who provide expert care to specific patient groups.
Annually, the trust performs 36,000 CT scans, 33,000 Ultrasound scans, 15,000 MRI scans, and 5,500 breast imaging procedures.
Over the past 10 months, NHS Forth Valley has reduced waiting lists for CT and ultrasound scans by 6,000 patients, with current waiting times now under 12 weeks – a dramatic decrease from over 52 weeks.
Additionally, over the past two years, the Breast team and the National Treatment Centre MRI scanner have supported nearly every territorial Health Board in Scotland, helping to reduce scan waits across the country.
A sustainable and efficient service
The advanced practitioner roles have supported the trust’s radiology department in making significant improvements. Advanced radiographic practitioners are particularly skilled in reading mammograms and performing diagnostic ultrasounds.
Development of these roles has helped to ensure a sustainable and efficient radiology service for local patients, the trust said.
In a further effort to meet rising demand, NHS Forth Valley will soon introduce a third CT scanner, which will increase capacity by 6,500 scans per year and reduce the need for patients to travel to other sites for imaging services.
Advanced practice initiatives further enhance service delivery and support the NHS’s goal of reducing waiting times and improving accessibility for patients, as well as aligning with NHS Scotland’s broader goal of achieving a turnaround time of less than six weeks for all imaging tests.
'A streamlined approach'
Juliette Murray, NHS Forth Valley’s deputy medical director for acute services and breast surgeon, said: “As well as reducing waiting times in urology and diagnostic services, the introduction of Advanced Nurse Practitioners has also been particularly beneficial for patients referred with suspected breast cancer.
“ANPs now run a variety of clinics that allow patients to receive their outpatient consultation, mammography, ultrasound scanning, and biopsy (if needed) in a single visit. This streamlined approach has contributed to consistently short waiting times for both breast cancer and surgical skin cancer services, improving both efficiency and patient experience.”
NHS Forth Valley is also leading the way in urology services, with the introduction of Advanced Surgical Care Practitioners who perform their own surgical lists for patients requiring vasectomies and circumcisions.
(Image: Patient undergoing CT scan at NHS Forth Valley)