A study has revealed that treatment times for patients with back problems are dramatically reduced if the skills of specialist nurses are utilised instead of surgeons'.

As reported by The Press Association, the new study found that 96 per cent of patients treated by a specialist nurse were happy with the assessment made. In every case, a nurse practitioner made the same diagnosis as an orthopaedic spine surgeon.

The study, published in the Journal of Advanced Nursing, showed that three quarters (74 per cent) of patients were happy to see a specialist nurse instead of waiting up to a year to see a surgeon. Only 26 per cent of people felt that the wait for a surgeon had any benefit to them.

The news could spark a boom in specialist nurse manager jobs, especially if the NHS decides to takes this approach which would cut waiting times and increase the number of patients that can be seen.

"Back pain can be very unpleasant and debilitating and 85 per cent of us will experience it at some point in our lives," nurse Angela Sarro said, as quoted by The Nursing Times. "The aim of our study was to see whether a clinic led by a nurse practitioner could speed up the diagnosis and management of patients with certain spinal conditions pre-selected by the surgeon's office."

This isn't the first study to focus on the benefits of utilising the skills and expertise of specialist nurses. Earlier this month it was revealed that specialist nurses can improve diabetes care, according to the Association of British Clinical Diabetologists. In fact, this could be symptomatic of a growing trend that highlights just how valuable nursing specialism is, not just in saving money and cutting costs, but in helping to heal patients too.