Cancer faster diagnosis service celebrates first anniversary

Our Cancer Faster Diagnosis Service is celebrating its first anniversary.

It was launched in March 2023 to help us meet three national standards which form part of the NHS Long Term Plan to speed up cancer diagnosis and improve patient experience. The standards require that:

• 75 per cent of patients with suspected cancer who are referred for urgent cancer checks from a GP, screening programme or other route should be diagnosed or have cancer ruled out within 28-days
• 85 per cent of patients who have been referred for suspected cancer and go on to receive a diagnosis should start treatment within 62-days of their referral
• 96 per cent of patients who have a cancer diagnosis, and who have had a decision made on their first or subsequent treatment, should then start that treatment within 31-days.

The benefits for patients are:

• Reduced time between referral and either a cancer or ‘all clear’ diagnosis
• Starting treatment quickly once a cancer diagnosis has been made
• Quicker access to support across community, primary and secondary care.

Before the service was introduced, patients sometimes had to wait up to two weeks to get an appointment during which they would be booked in for any tests they might need to undergo. They then had to wait a couple of weeks or more for the tests to be carried out and then another seven to 14 days before they saw a clinician to get their test results and diagnosis. All of this adds to the patient’s stress and worry at what is already a difficult and emotional time.

Once the tests have been done the results are available and reviewed by a consultant within four to five days. If a patient doesn’t have cancer the consultant will write to the patient within seven days of reviewing the test results. If the patient has cancer they are contacted by phone by a Macmillan Cancer Clinical Nurse Specialist and asked to attend a face-to-face appointment with a consultant within two days of the test results being reviewed. During the appointment the Consultant will talk to the patient about their diagnosis and treatment plan.

Annaselvi Nadar, Matron for the Cancer Faster Diagnosis Service, said: “We know that catching cancer early saves lives and this new approach provides more reassurance to patients at the very beginning of their journey as they receive their results early and, if necessary, start their cancer treatment earlier.

“The service is currently available to patients on the lower gastrointestinal (or lower GI), upper GI, lung, urology prostate, and non-specific symptoms cancer pathways and will soon be available to those on the gynaecology cancer pathway too.

“Urology have been extremely successful in meeting the faster diagnosis standards and is one of the top performing departments in the country for the 28-day faster diagnosis standard and 62 day target achieving over 90 per cent in each. As a result the team have shared their journey with NHS organisations both locally and nationally in the hope other trusts can benefit from the framework we have introduced.

“The service is also meeting the Patient First breakthrough objective to reduce the time patients wait for planned operations.

“The team’s focus for the next year is to grow and develop the service so all patients suspected of having cancer can benefit from it and ensure all of our cancer pathways are meeting the national standards consistently.”