Urgent suspicion of cancer

Where people seen in Primary Care meet the criteria outlined in the Scottish Cancer Referral Guidelines, this should be highlighted by choosing the priority ‘Urgent - Suspected Cancer’ (USC) when making the referral.

USC referral will trigger a number of actions in Secondary Care, so it is essential that patients are made aware at the point of referral that they are being referred as a USC patient. They should also be given a copy of the Cancer Research UK information leaflet.

The benefit of USC compared to ‘plain Urgent’ is that they will be covered by the 62-day Cancer Waiting Times standard and therefore will be Tracked. What this means for the patient is that the Cancer Trackers follow the patient’s pathway, and if it is at risk of diverting from targets they will be highlighted and prioritised to provide additional safety netting.

Following review in Secondary Care patients who are accepted as USC referrals will also be contacted by the Single Point of Contact to offer support throughout their pathway.