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Deborah Cavell, a staff nurse at the gynaecology outpatient department at Raigmore Hospital, is the first fully trained nurse colposcopist in NHS Highland.
This training allows for an increased capacity for the service, meaning more patients can be seen, the health board claim.
Colposcopy is a medical diagnostic procedure to visually examine the cervix as well as the vagina and vulva using a colposcope. The main goal of colposcopy is to prevent cervical cancer by detecting and treating precancerous lesions early.
Seeing more patients will help reduce the risk of cervical cancer as colposcopy is used to detect and treat abnormal smear test results and precancerous lesions early.
It also allows the senior consultants the time they need to focus on other areas of gynaecology.
Deborah, who has been a staff nurse in gynaecology for 16 years, has worked tirelessly to complete her colposcopy training while still fulfilling her duties on the ward.
NHS Highland was the only health board in Scotland without a nurse colposcopist, and the gynaecology management team were eager to acquire one by training Deborah to enhance her skills.
The whole team were wholeheartedly supportive while Deborah completed her training.
They released her from the ward for a few hours each week to work with the gynaecology doctors, and all expenses for accommodation and travel were paid when she had to go to down to Birmingham to sit through the course and exams. Before sitting her exams, Deborah had to complete a full year of supervised training, followed by six months of unsupervised training, and had to see 150 referred, returned, or new patients.
Thoracoscopic Surgery Carole Murphy, lead midwife at Raigmore Hospital Maternity Unit, said: “We are all very proud of Debbie’s achievements and look forward to offering an improved service to women.”