Referrals to cancer specialists at Harrogate Hospital down by as much as two thirds during coronavirus pandemic
Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, cancer specialists at Harrogate District Hospital have been seeing a significant drop in the number of people being referred to them by GPs for initial urgent appointments, under what is known as two-week referral.
Clinicians usually see about 190-200 urgent suspected cancer referrals per week through two-week referrals, but during the past couple of months this has dropped as low as 60 patients per week. Numbers of patients being referred for appointments is rising again, but the concern is that not everyone is getting in touch with their GP.
All patients with suspected cancer are referred for an urgent appointment at the hospital, which can either rule out the presence of the disease or pick it up early and allow for urgent investigations and treatment to begin.
If anyone notices a new symptom that they are worried about, they are urged to make an appointment with their GP.
Investigate
Dr Charles Parker, NHS North Yorkshire CCG Clinical Chair, said: “Cancer hasn’t gone away. There will still be people in our community experiencing signs and symptoms of cancer such as the sudden appearance of a lump, blood in their urine, or a change to usual bowel habits. It is vital these people contact their GP practice so a doctor can investigate and refer to a specialist if necessary.
“Finding cancer early offers the best chance to cure it. Ignoring potential problems can have serious consequences for people, something that nobody wants. Please, if you’re concerned, make an appointment with your GP. We are doing all we can to care for patients safely.”
People who are referred into Harrogate District Hospital for investigation or treatment, or who are already on a course of treatment, can expect the same quality of care; the way that care is delivered however may have changed in response to the pandemic.
Noreen Hawkshaw, Macmillian Lead Nurse for Cancer and Matron for the Sir Robert Ogden Macmillan Centre at Harrogate District Hospital, said: “The NHS has had to change significantly to manage the impact of the pandemic but we want to reassure patients who are referred to Harrogate District Hospital for investigation that we are still providing the same high quality of care, just in a different way, ensuring all the appropriate measures in line with Government guidance are in place to keep you safe when accessing our services.”
Video consultations
Meanwhile, Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, is stepping up the use of digital video consultations which will help to support patients during the coronavirus pandemic and beyond.
Video consultations are being trialled as appropriate across a number of departments which helps staff and patients maintain social distancing and limit the spread of the virus.
If patients need to be seen face to face, arrangements will be made for this and referrals will be reviewed as soon as they are received. Patients with a high clinical need will be seen as soon as possible and suspected cancer referrals will be given the highest priority.
Over the last few weeks, video consultations have been used to speak to patients as required, for example for some pre-arranged appointment times set up by the relevant department.
They allow patients to consult with their clinician remotely through a video feed on their own device, including phones, tablets, laptops and desktop computers.
One of the departments which has been trialling video consultations is Cardiology.
Clinical Lead Nurse for Cardiology Emma Edgar said: “Video consultations are a useful resource to have especially in a time of pandemic and gives us the opportunity to support patients and assess problems. We are currently in the trial stages of using the technology and assessing for which patient group a video call would be helpful and practicable.
“The technology is secure and you can rely on its confidentiality. My patients have found it relatively easy to use but of course we continue to support patients who may not have access to technology.”
