Same-day scans cut waiting time for cancer patients

An NHS hospital trust is trialling same-day CT scans to cut waiting time for cancer patients.

North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Peterborough City Hospital (PCH), Hinchingbrooke Hospital and Stamford & Rutland Hospital, said some patients attending the endoscopy department are being offered same-day CT scans by the imaging departments.

Paul Richards, a patient at Peterborough City Hospital, said the trial saved him a round-trip of 40-miles and enabled a quicker diagnosis.

The trust, which is implementing the trial in Peterborough and Hinchingbrooke, said the process speeded up planning and treatment.

A CT scan takes detailed pictures of the inside of your body. It's usually used to diagnose conditions or check how well treatment is working.

Rachael Bilton, consultant radiographer at NWAFT, said: "Our hospital endoscopy and imaging teams worked together, with input from pharmacy, to give patients the required preparation for CT scanning on the same day as their endoscopy. This will help to improve the journey for patients with newly diagnosed oesophageal or colonic carcinoma.

"Previously, these patients would be referred for their staging scans following their endoscopy and receive an outpatient CT appointment for a subsequent date."

She added: "Both hospital sites have seen a positive uptake of the service."

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