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Abstract Background Straight-to-test Is a relatively new way to refer suspected cancer patients from the primary care to get tested without being seen in clinic first. However, there is still confusion regarding its regulating guidelines in different NHS trusts. The rationale is that highly suspicious, fit for colonoscopy patients are referred via the pathway to get scoped without the added logistics, wait and costs of being seen in clinic first. This was introduced in Weston General hospital in January 2023. Aim Our aim was to audit the effectiveness of the pathway objectively by estimating cancer pickup rate, waiting times and what percentage of all diagnosed bowel cancers it identified, and at what stage. Method We collected the data of all patients referred via the pathway since implementation till mid-August 2023, investigated the indications for referrals, the outcomes, and the results of any performed investigations. Results Over 8 and half months, 140 patients were referred, with the commonest indication being a Positive FIT test (94, 67%), 99 were accepted and scoped (71%), 9 cancer patients were diagnosed in various stages, 6 of whom were operable. The average referral to endoscopy waiting time was 26 days. The pathway’s pick-up rate was one in 12, and the pathway diagnosed 15% of all bowel cancers presenting to the hospital during that period. Conclusions STT is a very promising tool to cut down waiting times and costs associated with cancer diagnosis between primary and secondary care, however, standard guidelines are still needed for better efficiency and performance.
Stephanos et al. (Mon,) studied this question.