Merseyside & Cheshire Cancer Network Dashboard

3. Delays in presentation/ Referral
Patient’s survival and mortality is likely to be poorer if they present late to primary care with
potential cancer symptoms. Community engagement projects such as the Healthy Communities
Collaborative and IVAN mobile support and information service can target awareness and prompt
earlier presentation to primary care.
The national audit of cancer diagnosis in primary care is a tool supported by the Royal College of
General Practitioners and the National Cancer Action Team. The tool captures themes in the
patient experience from delay presenting to the GP, through referral and diagnostics. This tool is
a reflective learning tool; each practice reviews the pathway for each audit. Yearly audits like this
have been highlighted as a key recommendation from the All Party Parliamentary Group on
Cancer.
Primary care audits
3a
The PCT can provide evidence of audits that inform the PCT of delays in the
patient experience prior to diagnosis using primary care audits
Level 1 No evidence
Level 2 Plans to participate in audits
Level 3 PCT has been involved in network primary care audit initiative
Level 4 The PCT plans involve at least a third of all practices in collecting audits
Level 5 The PCT has developed an agreement to repeat audits in each practice yearly
Excellent
Self
assessment
rating
Referral under the urgent two week waits (TWW)
3b
The PCT regularly reviews urgent TWW activity including did not attend (DNA)
and cancellation rates
Level 1 The PCT is not at level 2
Level 2 The PCT can demonstrate that it is starting to review TWW data on DNA/
cancellation rates
Level 3 The PCT can extract reports by GP practice to show DNA cancellation rates
Level 4 The PCT can extract reports by GP practice to show DNA cancellation rates and
reviews them at cancer action team meetings. A plan has been developed to
reduce DNA/ cancellation rates. The PCT can demonstrate a reduction in DNA/
Cancellation rates by PCT
Level 5
Excellent
Self
assessment
rating
The PCT can extract reports by GP practice to show DNA cancellation rates and
reviews them at cancer action team meetings. A plan has been developed to
reduce DNA/ cancellation rates. The PCT can demonstrate a reduction in DNA/
Cancellation rates by PCT and by those practice with the worst DNA rates
Version 2 Cancer Dashboard MCCN 2010 11