Presentations 2020: OMFS

407 - A review of the use of the 'Urgent Suspected Cancer' referral pathway to an Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery department.

R O'Rorke T Collins
Presented by: Rachael O'Rorke
Royal Gwent Hospital

Introduction The Department of Health introduced the ‘2 week-wait’ referral system to improve the speed of cancer diagnosis. When referred from primary care, there should be no more than a 2 week wait for an appointment with a specialist. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published guidelines, to help clinicians identify those patients who require an urgent suspected cancer (USC) referral to a specialist department. According to the Wales Cancer Network, only approximately 1in10 of USC referrals result in a diagnosis of malignancy. While this creates an increased burden on surgical services, when used appropriately it means that patients are seen, diagnosed and treated earlier.  Our aim is to review the USC referrals received to the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMFS) department for both appropriateness and diagnosis. Methods Retrospective data was collected for 100 USC referrals from both general practitioners (GPs) and general dental practitioners (GDPs) over a 6 month period to our OMFS department. Clinical notes were reviewed to ascertain the number of such referrals that were taken off the USC pathway following consultation and to determine if referrals were being made in line with NICE guidance. Results 29 out of 100 patients remained on the USC pathway following the initial consultation, for further investigations. Of these patients, 11 were subsequently diagnosed with a cancer. A significant proportion of the referrals were not consistent with NICE guidelines. Conclusion Most patients referred to OMFS on the USC 2 week wait rule were taken off the pathway following the initial visit. Seeing these patients creates an additional burden on service provision. It is important to raise awareness and knowledge among referring practitioners regarding guidance for appropriate referrals and to develop strategies to improve the usage of the system so that patients are seen within appropriate timeframes.
Consent Statement: There are no details on individual patients reported within the abstract.

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