So i understand that cancer treatment should start within 62 days of being referred, so today I chased my mums appointment with a hospital she was referred to for a biopsy, to be told they have referred back to her original hospital. So I called the original hospital, & got put through to the secretary to be told that my mum hadn't been referred back to them.
I argued my point that there had been a delay in her treatment, to be told that the original consultant had filled out the form wrongly & she was under the impression that all my mum treatment would be at the second hospital & not at the first hospital. She is now coming to the NHS strict guidelines on cancer policy.
Is there anywhere else I can go to, as we believe she has stage 4 kidney cancer ( which the urology specialist said was showing on her CT scan. Bear in mind urology agreed with me that she was referred to the wrong department at first, does the NHS stick to this 62 days timelines.
Hi Jay190880
I’m Anne, one of the Community Champions here on the Online Community and, although I'm not a member of this group, I noticed that your post hadn't had any replies yet. Responding to you will 'bump' it back to the top of the discussion list again.
You ask
does the NHS stick to this 62 days timelines
and the answer is that they are guidelines which the NHS is aiming to meet. You might find this information from Cancer Research UK helpful in understanding the timescales. You will see that the current targets are:
no more than 2 months (62 days) wait between the date the hospital receives an urgent suspected cancer referral and the start of treatment
no more than 31 days wait between the meeting at which you and your doctor agree the treatment plan and the start of treatment
Having looked back at your previous posts I think your mum saw her GP on 16th April and they referred her to the hospital. Now assuming that the GP actually sent the referral the same day, it could have been the 21st April at the earliest before the hospital received it. So if they received it on 21st April, 62 days would take you to 21st June, leaving 16 days still to go from today before the 62 day target is reached.
You have also asked about changing hospitals and this information tells you about your choices when being treated by the NHS.
I hope your mum doesn't have too much longer to wait for a definitive diagnosis and treatment plan.
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
Hi Jay190880
That's great to read that your mum has an appointment on the 23rd June and I hope everything goes to plan.
I'm a bit confused how the target has been missed by 5 weeks though, as I thought the 62 days was up on 21st June so surely they've only missed it by 2 days.
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
