Aberdeenshire MSP writes to Health Secretary over urological unit delay
A MSP has written to the Health Secretary after NHS Grampian confirmed there would be a 13-month delay to a urological unit.
In 2021, a proposal was made for a Swift Urological Responsive Evaluation (SURE) Unit at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary with funding from Ucan to facilitate the new space.
Ucan, is a leading urological charity set up in 2005 to raise awareness and encourage early diagnosis of kidney, bladder, prostate and testicular cancers.
It would provide a rapid diagnostic service, allowing for all necessary diagnostic procedures to occur in one visit.
Alongside alleviating travel pressures for patients and staff, the unit will also provide transformational changes in treatment and significantly reduce the resources utilised for these.
In October last year, Ucan advised NHS Grampian that they had reached their primary fundraising goal – meaning both construction and equipment procurement could start.
The aim was that patients could be treated within the new unit by May.
But, despite approval for the initiative by the NHS Grampian board at the end of last year, it was then decided that further work was needed on the rooms which had been proposed for the SURE unit.
Aberdeenshire East MSP Gillian Martin has written to Health Secretary Neil Gray to encourage the original plans for the unit to be continued so that patients are able to access the services without delay.
Ms Martin said: “Ucan is a vital charity which allows rapid diagnosis for kidney, bladder, prostate and testicular cancer.
“I am concerned that the original proposed location has been changed with such short notice and will only serve to delay the SURE unit further.
“I have written to the Health Secretary and NHS Grampian on this matter.
“A significant amount of work has gone on since 2021 to get this unit up and running.
“Waiting for tests and diagnosis for treatment is a worrying and unsettling time for both the patient and their relatives and this may add further pressure to people awaiting answers.
“Early diagnosis can make a life-changing difference for people in their cancer journey, and it is important we ensure this unit, which could help with doing just that, is not delayed any longer.”
