NECN Colorectal NSSG Audit of Waiting Times for Lower GI Cancer Patients in NECN April 2010 – March 2011

The scope of the audit : The purpose of this audit was to determine how long patients wait for each part of the patient pathway from referral to treatment in NECN and to assess the degree of variation between different trusts in the Network.

Key Findings A total of 10,953 2WW referrals seen in trusts in NECN during 2010/11 A total of 115,261 wait days; an average wait of 10.5 days across NECN per referral 2072 First Treatments 749 (36.1%) patients treated following urgent referral 38,912 wait days – average 52 days

Source: CWT Database Open Exeter

Conclusion Average waits in all trusts are below the maximum waits stipulated in cancer waiting times targets This analysis shows apparent variation in average waits between individual trusts, although no account is taken of casemix and therefore real variation cannot be confirmed.

Recommendations The Colorectal NSSG should consider the results of this audit and agree actions and further analysis as necessary Further analyses should be carried out to provide further detail on apparent variation between trusts in the diagnostic phase of the pathway Regular audit of this activity to measure ongoing impact of interventions