GP's not Referring

In the world of private health insurance the GP is normally your first port of call. If they feel that you need a hospital referral or that you need tests then they will refer you to a private consultant who will help you very quickly. Unfortunately recent evidence shows that GPS's delay in referring patients for early investigations.

Researchers from the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) were asked to carry out an audit of cancer diagnosis. The study which was published in the British Medical Journal found that GPs should consider referring more patients for investigations to ensure that cancer is diagnosed earlier. Late diagnosis has been blamed for the UK's poor cancer survival rates compared to other countries.

762,325 patients from 128 GP practices were studied. Researchers were looking at patients who had the following symptoms:

Blood in urine
Coughing blood
Difficulty swallowing
Rectal bleeding

They reviewed their diagnoses after 90 days and then three years. After 90 days one out of 4-7 patients were correctly diagnosed and three years later half of these patients did not have a correct diagnosis.

Despite these disappointing results diagnostic times have improved over the last few years but for patients who are not diagnosed properly it is too little too late.

There must be pressure on the NHS to not waste money. Many GP's use a 'wait and see' policy for patients when they first come into the surgery with symptoms. It is of concern that in the near future public spending will be cut and that this may affect the situation. Study leader Professor Roger Jones said:

'GPs in the NHS are seen as the gatekeepers and there is a bit of a feeling that they should restrict access. This is about investigating the right patients sooner - perhaps have a slightly lower threshold for it than before.'

It is not clear from the study whether GP's delay in referring only NHS patients or whether the same applies for private medical insurance patients. Either way early diagnosis is vital to improving cancer survival rates.

The advice for those who use the NHS and those who have general medical insurance or health insurance for cancer is to push the issue of testing with your GP. Insist you have the tests or are referred to a specialist.