NHS Forth Valley continues to reduce waiting times in a number of key areas, with waiting times for diagnostic scans and urology treatment dropping by 22% between April 2024 and September 2024.

Additional national and local investment, along with the ongoing development of innovative advanced clinical roles within local nursing and radiology teams, are significantly improving patient care, increasing capacity, and reducing waiting times for local patients. These new roles, including Advanced Nurse Practitioners (ANPs) and Advanced Radiology Practitioners, have played a key role in meeting the growing demand for healthcare services across the region.

In the field of radiology, NHS Forth Valley has seen significant improvements through the work of Advanced Radiology Practitioners who are skilled in reading mammograms and performing diagnostic ultrasounds, helping to ensure a sustainable and efficient radiology service for local patients.

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. This initiative further enhances service delivery and supports the NHS’s goal of reducing waiting times and improving accessibility for patients.

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’s Diagnostic Imaging service plays a central role in the diagnosis and treatment of a wide range of conditions, scanning approximately 190,000 patients each year. The service 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.

Radiology services currently carry out:

• 36,000 CT scans annually
• 33,000 Ultrasound scans
• 15,000 MRI scans
• 5,500 Breast imaging procedures

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.

These advances have already led to significant improvements in patient waiting times. Over the past 10 months, NHS Forth Valley has successfully 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.

These efforts align with NHS Scotland’s broader goal of achieving a turnaround time of less than six weeks for all imaging tests, ensuring patients receive the timely care they need.