Bradley Russell and Nicholas Fletcher discuss the need for clear boundaries for those nurses practising at an advanced level in surgical specialties

Aim To understand the different roles and aspects of the Surgical Care Practitioner (SCP) in delivering urology care to patients. To identify the different activities and various settings that SCP's are active in. Method Data collection was via online survey, distributed to 12 Urology SCP's from around the United Kingdom. Results 83% response rate was recorded. The Majority of SCP's time is spent in the Operating Theatre setting with 90% stating they spent at least half or more of their time there, 80% stated less than quarter of their time in clinic and even less time spent involved with ward based activity. The type of surgery SCP's were involved with most being Urology Oncology Open/Laparoscopic 80% and Robotic 80%. In comparison, Benign or Core urology surgery accounts for only 30%. None theatre activity was found to consist of assessment of new patients 40%, follow ups 60% and investigations 40%. Conclusion The SCP has become a recognized role in the theatre setting, assisting with and in some circumstances, under indirect supervision, carrying out surgical procedures. What this small survey has highlighted is the other facets to the role, demonstrating their input in Outpatient clinic assessment, follow up reviews and in some cases conducting investigations (Flexible Cystoscope and Urodynamic) on urology patients.

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Introduction The Surgical Care Practitioner is a medical associate profession role, working to an advanced level, undertaken by registered nurses, operating department practitioners or physiotherapists, on completion of a Royal College of Surgeons accredited course. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to all heath care professionals needing to adapt to help support the health care system as it tackles its effect. Aim Audit of roles undertaken by Surgical Care Practitioners during the COVID-19 pandemic in the context of Royal College of Surgeons (2014) Curriculum to review the utilisation of this medical associate profession role. Method The online questionnaire service, SurveyMonkey®, was used to collect data on the activities being undertaken by the Surgical Care Practitioner during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results Eighty Surgical Care Practitioners from across seven different surgical specialties within the United Kingdom completed the online survey. Nearly half stated that they remained mostly working in their substantive role, just less than a third helped in critical care units, with the remaining redeployed in equal shares to emergency departments or assisting on wards with nurses and as part of medical teams. A brief description of their activities was also recorded. Conclusion This audit has demonstrated the versatility of the Surgical Care Practitioner and ability to adapt during the pandemic.