Improving the care of patients with pleural disease

The prevalence of pleural disease is increasing, and more patients are requiring intervention to investigate and manage pleural effusions. This pathway has often been prolonged, with patients frequently encountering significant delays in both getting a diagnosis for the cause of the effusion and then receiving an intervention for symptomatic relief. These delays are often due to the availability of medics trained to perform pleural procedures such as diagnostic and therapeutic aspirations and inserting chest drains.

A dedicated pleural team was needed and the Trust's respiratory team thought that having a dedicated nurse specialist for pleural disease, who could be trained to perform these procedures, would improve the patient experience and care by reducing waiting times for procedures.

Over the past 4 years I have worked closely with my consultant colleagues to build knowledge and skills in pleural disease management. There were many challenges to overcome in the early days, not least that this was traditionally a subspecialty dominated by medics with little input from nurses.