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- Page navigation anchor for Increased survival means increasing roles for primary care following cancer diagnosisIncreased survival means increasing roles for primary care following cancer diagnosisMorgan et al. point out that cancer survival rates in the UK are improving. It is timely to consider the roles that GPs play following a cancer diagnosis. We would like to report highlights from a workshop (Cancer in Primary Care International Network (Ca-PRI) annual scientific meeting, Edinburgh, 2017) which explored the roles of GPs following a cancer diagnosis in the Netherlands, Canada, the UK, and Australia and showcased current improvement initiatives and research.Internationally, the roles that GPs play in cancer care are expanding,1 but GP input during treatment and survivorship phases is highly variable within and between countries.2 In the UK, a formal cancer care review is remunerated under the current GP contract, but there is evidence that the review is often unstructured, and is perceived to be of limited use.3 Lack of standardised approaches in primary care following a cancer diagnosis are problematic not only because of the dramatic increase in cancer prevalence, but also because of the increasingly chronic nature of the disease and the high prevalence of comorbid diseases. Consequently, more cancer patients and their partners consult their GPs more frequently over longer periods of time.4 There is a political and professional will to provide comprehensive, cost-effective care following a cancer diagnosis, and a sense that primary care is uniquely placed to contribute to...Show MoreCompeting Interests: None declared.
- Page navigation anchor for Brain tumours. Patient pathway lables them as emergencies,sometimesBrain tumours. Patient pathway lables them as emergencies,sometimesWhilst some people are diagnosed after presenting as emergencies it is also now common that any patient referred for a CT or MRI by their GP that is found to have a serious problem is then sent from scanning to the accident department and gets coded as an emergency.Sadly also if I request an urgent MRI as a GP the wait to be done will be over a month and for the report again many weeks. The only way I can access an urgent CT or MRI is by sending the person to the accident department. The end result for the patient is speeded up but we as GP then get blamed for delays in diagnosis.Competing Interests: None declared.