Current status: Answered by Neil Gray on 3 December 2024
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the publication of, and recommendations in, the University of Strathclyde report, Final Report of the Evaluation of Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Services, whether improved guidance or protocols are being developed to clarify the roles of the GP Direct Access and Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Service referrals for primary care professionals.
A clinical refresh of the Scottish Referral Guidelines for Suspected Cancer is currently underway to help ensure the right person is on the right pathway at the right time and are due to be published in Spring 2025.
As part of this update, a guideline will now be included for those patients presenting with symptoms that do not follow the specific tumour referral pathways. This non-specific symptom guideline is closely aligned to the referral route for those who are referred to a Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Service (RCDS) or through a direct access to CT pathway.
The RCDS programme has a role to support these referrals and we are committed to achieving population based coverage by 2026, with a sixth service being established early 2025.
In addition, national guidance developed by Scottish Clinical Imaging Network provides primary care clinicians with information on when to refer for direct access to CT or an existing RCDS.