Developing a specialist clinic for monitoring, educating and supporting patients at risk of skeletal-related events
Intended for healthcare professionals
Evidence and practice    

Developing a specialist clinic for monitoring, educating and supporting patients at risk of skeletal-related events

Sara Smith Palliative care advanced clinical practitioner, Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust, Walsall, England

Why you should read this article:
  • To enhance your understanding of the risk of skeletal-related events in patients with bone metastases

  • To increase your awareness of the need to inform at-risk patients about metastatic spinal cord compression

  • To identify the potential benefits of monitoring, educating and supporting at-risk patients

Patients with bone metastases are at significant risk of skeletal-related events such as metastatic spinal cord compression (MSCC), pathological fractures and hypercalcaemia. There is increasing evidence to support the early recognition of, and intervention for, skeletal-related events resulting from bone metastases. To enable early diagnosis and treatment, patients and families need to know what signs and symptoms to look out for and be aware that they must promptly report them if they appear. This is particularly the case of MSCC, which is an oncological and palliative care emergency. This article outlines the development of a multidisciplinary palliative care bone metastases review service in England which provides monitoring, education and support to patients with bone metastases. The service has not yet been formally audited but initial achievements and feedback are promising.

Cancer Nursing Practice. doi: 10.7748/cnp.2023.e1843

Peer review

This article has been subject to external double-blind peer review and checked for plagiarism using automated software

@sazsmudge

Correspondence

sara.smith4@nhs.net

Conflict of interest

None declared

Smith S (2023) Developing a specialist clinic for monitoring, educating and supporting patients at risk of skeletal-related events. Cancer Nursing Practice. doi: 10.7748/cnp.2023.e1843

Published online: 14 June 2023

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