Cornwall nurse Debbie Victor takes expertise to Melbourne

A cut that heals wrong. A hormone treatment with side effects nobody warns you about. A biopsy that used to mean a trip to theatre. These are the everyday realities Debbie Victor has spent three decades working to improve for men in Cornwall, and this month she took that experience to the other side of the world.

A Cornwall specialist on the world stage

Debbie Victor, Uro-Oncology Clinical Nurse Specialist at Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust (RCHT), was invited to speak at the 26th Asia-Pacific Prostate Cancer Conference in Melbourne, sharing her expertise and best practice with delegates from across the world.

Debbie has been caring for urology patients for more than 30 years, and has held her current role since 2004. She is an award-winning specialist and Education Lead for the British Association of Urological Nurses, and has helped shape national guidance and develop nurse-led services, working alongside organisations including NHS England and Prostate Cancer UK to improve patient care.

“It was a real honour to speak at such a prestigious international conference,” Debbie said. “This opportunity reflects the dedication and expertise of our team here at RCHT and our commitment to delivering the best care. I’m proud to be able to share the work we are doing to help drive innovation in prostate cancer care.”

Pioneering a safer way to biopsy

In one of her sessions, Introducing a Nurse-Led TP biopsy service, Debbie spoke about setting up the first nurse-led local anaesthetic trans perineal prostate biopsy service in the South West, offering men a safer option for the diagnostic test.

“In Australia this is currently the domain of the urology consultants,” Debbie explained. “But using nurse specialists can increase capacity, particularly when they offer PSA screening, so it is likely there will be more biopsies needed.”

Praise from colleagues at RCHT

Dr Mike Rowe, Consultant Clinical Oncologist and Clinical Lead for Oncology at RCHT, said the recognition was well deserved. “We are incredibly proud of Debbie and this well-deserved recognition,” Mike said. “Being invited to present at a major international conference demonstrates the expertise within our teams. Sharing learning and best practice on a global stage helps ensure we continue to improve services for patients here in Cornwall.”

Keeping men well on hormone treatment

In another session, Debbie discussed how, as a nurse, she is also able to review men on combined hormone treatment for prostate cancer, and the ways of keeping them healthy while on it. Her work already feeds into practice across the NHS, from national guidance to services elsewhere in the country.

“This session was very well attended,” Debbie added, “and people stopped me afterwards to ask if I could share some of the programme of care so that they could look to do something similar.”