SafeRDC
Research type
Research Study
Full title
What can we learn about diagnostic safety culture in cancer referral pathways, which will inform future improvement and service design of diagnostic pathways across the NHS?
IRAS ID
276178
Contact name
Georgia B Black
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University College London
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 8 months, 26 days
Research summary
At every step of their journey through the NHS, a potential cancer patient’s safety must be of paramount importance. A timely diagnostic process is critical for patient safety - the design of cancer pathways should therefore defend against unforeseen factors which cause delay. Currently, care can become fragmented and delayed at referral points on these pathways, for example if a patient needs to see more than one type of specialist before getting diagnosed with cancer. These referral points are particularly unsafe for patients with low-risk symptoms. As a qualitative researcher with a track record of work in diagnostic pathways, I propose an ethnographic project to explore how NHS staff try to keep patients safe at these referral points. The aim is to help improve cancer pathway design across the NHS, particularly the safe diagnosis of patients with low-risk symptoms.
This will include a study of rapid diagnostic centres (RDCs). These are innovative, hospital-based services that are equipped to explain the cause of non-specific symptoms. This is supposed to be a 'one stop shop' where patients get a variety of tests until they have cancer ruled in or out, rather than one specialist after another to rule out specific cancer types. The project aims to find good safety strategies, which can then be fed into policy and practice throughout the NHS. This will contribute to the timely diagnosis of cancer of all types, particularly those that are harder to diagnose.REC name
East of Scotland Research Ethics Service REC 1
REC reference
21/ES/0076
Date of REC Opinion
18 Aug 2021
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion