John Thurso Backs Prostate Cancer UK’s Quality Checklist

25th November 2013

NHS Highland urged to act to deliver best possible care for men.

MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross – John Thurso - has backed Prostate Cancer UK’s Quality Checklist as a first step towards delivering the best possible care and support for men with the disease.

The call was made following a meeting between John Thurso and Prostate Cancer UK, and increases the pressure on NHS Highland to get behind the Quality Checklist. The initiative has also been backed by all constituency and regional list MSPs in the NHS Highland area.

Prostate Cancer UK produced the Quality Checklist to be used as a best practice guide for men and clinicians in a bid to drive up standards and deliver more uniform levels of care and support. The Checklist sets out 15 standards for care and support that men with prostate cancer should expect and demand on the NHS, from their point of diagnosis onwards.

The document has been endorsed by the Royal College of Nursing, the Royal College of General Practitioners, the British Association of Urological Nurses, the British Uro-oncology Group and the Society and College of Radiographers. Prostate Cancer UK, and a cross party alliance of MPs and MSPs, are calling on all Scottish health boards to back the document and ensure it is distributed to all men who are diagnosed with the disease.

Drew Lindon, Head of Policy and Campaigns at Prostate Cancer UK, said: “There is growing evidence of gaps and variation in prostate cancer care and support in Scotland. It is vital that every man with prostate cancer has access to the world-class information, care and support he needs and deserves if we are to help deliver a better quality of life in the future.

\\\"We are delighted that John Thurso MP has joined a growing movement showing support for men with prostate cancer by endorsing our Quality Checklist. I urgently call on cancer networks, health boards and health care professionals to follow their lead. Men with prostate cancer deserve the best, and Prostate Cancer UK is absolutely determined that’s exactly what they are going to get.”

Prostate Cancer UK is working closely with men and their families, healthcare providers, politicians and health care professionals to ensure that the Checklist is adopted and implemented throughout Scotland. To view the Quality Checklist please visit: www.prostatecanceruk.org/qualitycare

About Prostate Cancer UK
Prostate Cancer UK fights to help more men survive prostate cancer and enjoy a better quality of life. We support men and provide vital information. We find answers by funding research into causes and treatments. And we lead change, raising the profile of the disease and improving care. We believe that men deserve better.

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John Thurso