What we do

The urology service provides high quality care to a local population of 530,000 along with tertiary care to a population of 1.6 million in Lancashire and South Cumbria. We are a tertiary referral centre for major pelvic oncology (nephrectomy, cystectomy and prostatectomy) including robotic procedures, complex stone disease and uro-gynaecology.

East Lancashire NHS Trust Urology Department consists of a team of:

  • 8 consultants
  • 6 middle grades/trainee doctors
  • 5 junior doctors
  • 4 5 specialist cancer nurses
  • 4 specialist nurses
  • 1 rapid diagnostic service nurse

The team are dedicated to providing high quality care which is safe, personal and effective.

Our urology service provides expert diagnosis and treatment for a wide range of urological conditions at our two designated units for urology at Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital and Burnley General Teaching Hospital.

East Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust was the first Trust in Lancashire to establish robotic surgery, starting with the robotic radical prostatectomy (prostate removal) programme. We continue to develop robotic surgery procedures offered using our state-of-the-art Da Vinci robot.

Our service has excellent outcomes as demonstrated in national audits. We aim to run our clinics in a one-stop model wherever possible to reduce the number of times patients have to attend the hospital, and we have designated outpatient units for urology.

The team have been awarded the Hospital Doctors Urology Team of the Year, Charter Mark status on numerous occasions and, in 2016, a Quality, Innovation and Research Award.

Urological Cancer Surgery

We are a tertiary referral centre for major urological cancers and provide a full range of surgical options, within a multidisciplinary setting supported by specialist oncology, radiology and pathology specialists. These include robot assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy and robot assisted partial nephrectomy. We also provide laparoscopic nephrectomy and radical cystectomy to our patients. We are diligent at submitting data to national audits and our surgical outcome data can be found through the British Association of Urological Surgeons website (https://www.baus.org.uk/patients/surgical_outcomes/).

Clinical trials and research

We have a dedicated research team and are currently involved as a research site for a number of multicentre portfolio national studies and also local projects.

Urology covers the management of medical (i.e. non-surgical) problems, such as urinary tract infections and benign prostatic hyperplasia, as well as surgical problems, such as the surgical management of cancers, the correction of congenital abnormalities or correction of stress incontinence.

We provide a full range of diagnostic procedures including:

  • Flexible cystoscopy
  • Video urodynamics,
  • mpMRI
  • Template biopsy.
  • TRUS

 

Treatment procedures include:

  • Robot assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy
  • Open and Laparoscopic (keyhole) prostate removal for cancer
  • Robot assisted partial nephrectomy
  • Laparoscopic radical nephrectomy or partial nephrectomy – removal or partial removal of the kidney and surrounding tissues
  • Radical cystectomy
  • Percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) and mini PCNL procedures
  • Lasertripsy
  • Extra corporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL)
  • Intravesical botox under local and general anaesthetic
  • Tension free vaginal tape (TVT)
  • Autologous fascial sling

Other core procedures include:

  • Trans-urethral resection of prostate (TURP)
  • Urolift implants
  • Trans-urethral resection of bladder tumour (TURBT)

 

Our urology service also offers

  • Laser ablation of recurrent bladder tumours in an outpatient setting, removing the need for a general anaesthetic
  • Intravesical instillations unit for treatment of bladder tumours (filling of bladder with medication)

How to access the service

Referrals are made by your GP via the NHS e-Referral Service, with the exception of one-stop and two-week wait referrals. 

If you are a GP looking to refer an  acute patient, contact the switchboard on 01254 263555 and ask for the on-call registrar. 

Secondary care referrals

As a tertiary centre we accept referrals from other secondary care centres, usually for patients with cancer that needs surgical treatment.

The multidisciplinary team (MDT) coordinator at the referring trust should contact ELHT Urology's MDT coordinator and complete the minimum dataset for a referral into our cancer service.

Where possible tests and investigations should be carried out prior to referral and results made available to ELHT to streamline this process for patients.

Tertiary referrals

ELHT Urology is a tertiary referral centre for Lancashire and South Cumbria. Tertiary referrals are received through via the Cancer MDT co-ordinator.

Access to patient results

Results will be included in letters to GPs and consultants. However, GPs can also contact the relevant PA by phone or post.

Clinics are offered at our two main hospitals and at a range of Outpatient sites – Please check your appointment letter for details. Our clinics include:

  • Haematuria clinic RBTH/ BGTH 2 per week each site
  • TRUS Clinics RBTH/BGTH 2 per week each site
  • General OPD Rossendale/Clitheroe/RBTH/BGTH/Pendle/Accrington
  • Paediatrics 2 per month RBTH/BGTH
  • Andrology Service RBTH/BGTH/Rossendale 1 per week each site
  • TWOC service RBTH/BGTH weekly
  • Flow Rate Clinic RBTH/BGTH weekly
  • Flexible cystoscopy  Clinics RBTH/BGTH- 3 per week each site
  • Prostate clinic (Nurse led)- RBTH 1 per week
  • LUTS/UTI clinic (Nurse led)- RBTH 1 per week
  • Cystastat clinic – RBTH 1 per week
  • ESWL (Non-invasive kidney stone treatment) BGTH monthly
  • Urodynamics BGTH weekly

 ​​

Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital (Urology Outpatients - Third Floor)

Hours - Clinic hours vary – please check appointment letters for details.

Urology clinics at Burnley General Teaching Hospital (Urology Investigations Unit)

Hours - Clinic hours vary – please check appointment letters for details.

Rossendale Health Hub (Outpatients Department)

Hours - Clinic hours vary – please check appointment letters for details.

Pendle Community Hospital (Outpatients Department)

Hours - Clinic hours vary – please check appointment letters for details.

Clitheroe Community Hospital (Outpatients Department)

Hours - Clinic hours vary – please check appointment letters for details.

Accrington Victoria Community Hospital (Outpatients Department)

Hours -  Clinic hours vary – please check appointment letters for details.

Mr Iain Campbell - Clinical Director

Clinical Director - Mr Iain Campbell

Consultants - 

Matron - Lorraine Scott

Outpatients Manager -  Angela Divito

Outpatient Lead Nurse - Margaret Harris

Directorate Manager - Lorraine Scott

Deputy Directorate Manager - Anabelle Robinson

There are several clinical nurse specialists that support the patients throughout their treatment programme. The nurses are each associated with different specialist areas of urology.

 

Nurse Specialists

Tracey Cooke

Michelle Garsden

Carl Andrews

 

Cancer Nurse Specialists

Deborah Dobson

Rebecca Thorpe

Suzanne Younger

Louise Padden

Hannah Hartley

 

Rapid Diagnostic Service Nurse

Gaynor Bowen

Outpatients

Blackburn - 01254 734582 (Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm)

Burnley - 01282 804207 (Monday to Friday 8am to 4pm)

Urology Outpatients Department - Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital

Open Monday - Friday 8am - 5pm

Tel: 01254 734582

 

Urology Outpatients Department - Burnley General Teaching Hospital

Urology Investigations Unit

Open Monday - Friday 8am - 4pm

Tel: 01282 804207

If you are to be admitted for urology surgery and are going to be an inpatient under the care of the Urology team you can find out more about your admisson here:

Ward B14

Elective Care Centre 

Before your appointment

For two week wait referrals, an appointment will be received within one to two days and will be within two weeks.

For urgent referrals an appointment should be received within two weeks, and should be within six weeks from the referral date.

For non-urgent referrals an appointment should be received within two weeks and should be within a maximum of 12 weeks from the referral date. We aim to give patients a date for admission when their surgical procedure is discussed in outpatients. If this is not possible, then a date should be received within two weeks of the outpatient appointment.

You are welcome to bring a relative, close friend or carer with you to your appointment. You are also welcome to ask for a chaperone and we will endeavour to provide one for you.

Please prepare a list of all your medications, their doses, and any supplements you take. Bring detailed notes of your symptoms and try to recall when your symptoms began.

Remember to check your appointment letter for anything specific you have been asked to take with you. In addition, it would be helpful if you could bring the following:

·         Your full address and telephone number(s)

·         Your appointment card and appointment letter

·         Your GP’s name and address

·         Money to pay for any prescriptions, or an exemption card

·         A list of questions you may want to ask your consultant

During your appointment

Please check in via our Outpatient reception desk or through electronic kiosks on arrival and bring the paperwork for your appointment.

Please note that we are a teaching hospital, so medical students may be present for some appointments. If you do not wish to have them in the room please let the nurse or doctor know and the students will be asked to step outside.

You will discuss your symptoms and treatment options with the doctor. You should expect to have some diagnostic tests on the day of your appointment. These tests may include: blood tests, uroflowmetry, flexible cystoscopy, TRUS biopsy or urodynamic studies. Please allow up to four hours for your appointment and any diagnostic tests.

 

After your appointment

Before you leave the unit, please go to the reception desk to schedule your follow-up outpatient appointment, if one is required.

 

Further online resources

BRITISH ASSOCIATION OF UROLOGICAL SURGEONS