Over half of Britain's GPs are not referring cancer patients urgently

BunionsBunions Posts: 14,995
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Absolutely shocking and the thing about some symptoms of cancers mimicking other ailments they see regularly in General Practice doesn't cut it I'm afraid because GPs in other countries are managing to spot the signs and refer in more instances than we do here:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/10501959/Half-of-GPs-dont-refer-cancer-patients-urgently-first-league-tables-show.html

I'd bet money that there's some incentive in the GP contract to NOT refer patients or reduce the number of referrals.

Bottom of the league table and being out-performed by some Eastern European countries .... beggars belief.

Comments

  • Alien_SaxonAlien_Saxon Posts: 1,178
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    ..I'd say over half of Britain's GPs are absolutely milking it whilst bankers get all the flak.
  • TassiumTassium Posts: 31,639
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    Over half of all newspapers have an anti-public service agenda and basically lie to suit that agenda.

    "Urgently" is not something that can be defined.
  • BunionsBunions Posts: 14,995
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    Tassium wrote: »
    Over half of all newspapers have an anti-public service agenda and basically lie to suit that agenda.

    "Urgently" is not something that can be defined.
    "Urgently" was defined over 10 years ago in the NICE Guidelines and is within 2 weeks.
  • yorkiegalyorkiegal Posts: 18,929
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    NICE guidelines mean nothing. If you think cancer referrals are slow, try waiting 17 months for a mental health referral. And before someone says that it's different because cancer kills, well so does mental illness.

    My mum saw her gp for over two years with stomach pain and dizziness and just kept getting told she was anaemic and possibly going through the change. By the time they diagnosed the massive tumour she had, it was too late to save her from the bowel cancer which had already spread.
  • IphigeniaIphigenia Posts: 8,109
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    yorkiegal, I am very sorry indeed to hear that.



    In my case, it was locum GP spots tonsil issue one day, next day at ENT, diagnosis 2 weeks later, consultant 2 weeks later, chemotherapy 4 weeks later, radiotherapy 16 weeks later, remission July, remission October.
    Admittedly, I still have post-cancer depression and anxiety (as mentioned on another thread, I'll stop banging on about it) but I can't complain about the speed of initial referral.

    Get me on the subject of the paucity of emotional and mental support for cancer sufferers and survivors, and you'll have to haul me offstage with a net.......
  • boddismboddism Posts: 16,436
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    yorkiegal wrote: »
    NICE guidelines mean nothing. If you think cancer referrals are slow, try waiting 17 months for a mental health referral. And before someone says that it's different because cancer kills, well so does mental illness.

    My mum saw her gp for over two years with stomach pain and dizziness and just kept getting told she was anaemic and possibly going through the change. By the time they diagnosed the massive tumour she had, it was too late to save her from the bowel cancer which had already spread.

    Dont trust GP's when they fob you off with vague diagnoses of your symptoms. Go online, research your symptoms and find out what conditions they might be, & suggest them to your doctor.
    I dont think GP's have some evil agenda here, they are just overworked and human, they dont know EVERYTHING. Remember, to a GP you are just a number, to your family you are everything.
    If you dont like the diagnosis get a 2nd opinion.

    Sorry about yr loss.
  • dekafdekaf Posts: 8,398
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    yorkiegal wrote: »
    NICE guidelines mean nothing. If you think cancer referrals are slow, try waiting 17 months for a mental health referral. And before someone says that it's different because cancer kills, well so does mental illness.

    My mum saw her gp for over two years with stomach pain and dizziness and just kept getting told she was anaemic and possibly going through the change. By the time they diagnosed the massive tumour she had, it was too late to save her from the bowel cancer which had already spread.


    Yorkiegal, that is so sad.
  • BunionsBunions Posts: 14,995
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    boddism wrote: »
    Dont trust GP's when they fob you off with vague diagnoses of your symptoms. Go online, research your symptoms and find out what conditions they might be, & suggest them to your doctor.
    I dont think GP's have some evil agenda here, they are just overworked and human, they dont know EVERYTHING. Remember, to a GP you are just a number, to your family you are everything.
    If you dont like the diagnosis get a 2nd opinion.

    Sorry about yr loss.
    I would have thought that the fact they are 'overworked and human' would mean that they would be more inclined to refer patients, not less so.

    Surely referring patients 'to be on the safe side' is what they should be doing, just like they are in other countries.
  • BunionsBunions Posts: 14,995
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    yorkiegal wrote: »
    NICE guidelines mean nothing. If you think cancer referrals are slow, try waiting 17 months for a mental health referral. And before someone says that it's different because cancer kills, well so does mental illness.

    My mum saw her gp for over two years with stomach pain and dizziness and just kept getting told she was anaemic and possibly going through the change. By the time they diagnosed the massive tumour she had, it was too late to save her from the bowel cancer which had already spread.
    That is a terrible thing to have happened - to her of course and to you.

    I'm really sorry and this absolutely should never have happened and should never have been allowed to happen.
  • darkislanddarkisland Posts: 3,178
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    ..I'd say over half of Britain's GPs are absolutely milking it whilst bankers get all the flak.

    A great pity that so many people swallow the politically motivated agenda of No 10, faithfully spewed up by three of our daily titles.

    I guess some folk are happy to act and think as instructed. Such ignorance though, is profounfly depressing.
  • muggins14muggins14 Posts: 61,844
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    My Mum was told back in November that the mass in her stomach was cancer, but she's not starting her chemo until 18th December. Seems an awfully long time to us, considering it's Stage 3 Ovarian Cancer which gives a very low survival rate, especially at 80 years old.

    It has been frustrating beyond belief how slowly they have moved, weeks between blood tests, biopsies, etc. Took them so long to even figure out what it was cancer of, and by the 18th it'll have been 4 weeks since her treatment plan was decided upon. Seems to me they feel no sense of urgency whilst on our end we feel a complete and utter sense of urgency, along with despair, anger and all the other emotions that come along with this. I know weeks don't sound a lot, but to me and to her they drag like years.

    In the meantime she gets no support from anywhere else in looking after my Dad who has severe dementia, her only help is me (which I'm not complaining about by the way, I'd do everything in the world for both of them, but I also have a disabled child to care for).

    Yorkiegal I'm so sorry to read what your mother went through, it should not be like this :(
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