Scotland rejected failing NHS England cancer diagnosis system revealed to be causing patient harm

From the Guardian today, the above and: Cancer diagnoses have been missed or delayed because of a system designed for GPs to seek specialist advice before referring patients to hospital, according to an investigation. The Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB) identified patient risks linked to how advice and guidance (A+G) services have been implemented across England. A+G was brought in to slash unnecessary hospital visits and reduce waiting times, allowing family doctors to seek specialist input before making referrals. However, the investigation found evidence that A+G had “contributed to near misses and incidents of patient harm, both physical and psychological” … Continue reading Scotland rejected failing NHS England cancer diagnosis system revealed to be causing patient harm

Deadly cancer treatment delays significantly less common in NHS Scotland

By Professor John Robertson Thanks to Dottie for alerting me to this: In the Guardian, today: The first report, by Cancer Research UK, found that 382,000 cancer patients in England were not treated on time since 2015. The charity investigated how many patients had begun treatment 62 days or longer after being urgently referred for suspected cancer. The national NHS target – under which at least 85% of people should start treatment within 62 days – was last met in December 2015. For some reason, the actual figure for those starting treatment on time is not quoted. For the period 1 October … Continue reading Deadly cancer treatment delays significantly less common in NHS Scotland