Colorectal Faster Diagnosis
Referrals
Why has my GP referred me to the hospital?
Your General Practitioner (GP) has referred you to the hospital because you have been experiencing bleeding from the back passage, have anaemia, or other gastrointestinal symptoms such as a change of bowel habit. Often it is due to a positive stool test called a qFIT test.
With an urgent referral you will be contacted by telephone to attend an appointment or have a telephone consultation with a specialist within two weeks.
You must be available to attend your appointment within the timescale of two weeks and if you are not available during this time please inform your GP.
What happens once I have been referred?
The team of medical professionals will triage your referral on the day of receipt and arrange the next step for assessment and investigations. Some patients will be referred to go straight for a test, others offered a telephone clinic, or a face-to-face clinic appointment.
These should be arranged within 14 days from the referral, and you should receive a diagnosis within 28 days.
Increasingly, patients who are suitable for 'straight to test' are referred directly for their investigations but are telephoned by one of the Colorectal Nurse Practitioners to discuss and answer any questions the patient may have and ensure the patient is suitable to be referred straight to test.
Colorectal Faster Diagnosis Pathway
*Click here for a full size document of the above diagram
