Onward referral and prehabilitation

Onward referral

If a diagnosis is made, cancer or non-cancer, the patient should be referred to the appropriate specialist team. Ensuring good relationships with specialist teams will help this process. NHS Borders have developed a helpful template to complete that details key contacts and a Standard Operating Procedure detailing the handover process. If further investigations are required before a diagnosis can be made the patient should remain on the RCDS pathway. The patient’s General Practitioner should be kept informed of the outcome and, if discharged back to Primary Care, any relevant advice should also be included.

 

“After a GP referral I was contacted by the RCDS Team. The team were brilliant, (...) explained every part of the process in detail (and) soon arranged for an X-ray and CT scan. These procedures were all put in place with great speed. In a matter of days, I was given the procedures and importantly the results. What was also very good was the information I was given. I had all my questions answered, in detail and with clarity. Thanks to (...) the team at the RCDS for a great service. My care is ongoing now through other hospital departments.”

RCDS patient

Prehabilitation

The RCDS pathway provides a good opportunity to consider a patient’s level of prehabilitation need for physical activity, nutritional and psychological support (this is part of the Key Principles for Implementing Cancer Prehabilitation across Scotland). Patients should then be signposted to the correct support network to deliver their prehabilitation needs (e.g. community, secondary care etc.). Useful first steps to delivering prehabilitation are included in the NHS Scotland prehabilitation website and the Maggies website.