Posted on 12/07/2013 6:24:16 AM PST by originalbuckeye
Thousands of people who go on to be diagnosed with cancer are not being referred to specialists quickly enough by GPs, NHS England figures suggest. Under NHS targets, 95% of people with suspected cancer should be seen by a specialist within two weeks. But the data indicates that this target was missed in more than half of the 4,000 GP surgeries sampled. Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the government was tackling the "unacceptable variation". NHS England said the figures were not a clear measure of performance, as some patients did not have obvious symptoms. National performance data allows patients to look up their GP surgery and see how it performs against dozens of diagnosis and treatment indicators. NHS England collected the figures on cancer referral rates from GP surgeries across the country as part of a drive to make the health service more transparent. 'Transparency applauded' Early diagnosis is seen as the most important factor in tackling cancer. In 59% of the GP practices sampled, fewer than half the patients subsequently found to have the disease had been referred to a specialist within the two-week target. In one in six surgeries, doctors are said to have failed to make an urgent referral in at least two thirds of these cases. And in some practices, only one in 10 patients later found to have cancer had been referred within the target time. Stuart Barber, from Beating Bowel Cancer, said it was "intolerable" that patients were having to wait. He said: "GPs have the tools. There are clear symptoms, there is a clear screening programme and if a patient visits their doctor with what are symptoms of bowel cancer they should have the confidence they are going to be referred quickly."
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
A friend of mine was being treated for back pain until being finally diagnosed and treated for bone cancer albeit too late. Pain and suffering is having the “happy hour”.
SEATTLE, Dec. 6 (UPI) — Former Secretary of State Colin Powell told a Seattle audience universal healthcare would show the world the United States takes care of “all of our citizens.”
Speaking Thursday at a fundraiser sponsored by the University of Washington School of Medicine and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Powell said he doesn’t see why the United States “can’t do what Europe is doing, what Canada is doing, what Korea is doing, what all these other places are doing.”
We haven’t had Socialized Medicine because we have, in the past, cared about QUALITY health care. Bye-bye to that.
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When I gave my symptoms to my primary care she just had me call a gynecologist who saw me 3 days later.
The test results came back in 3 days and I had a hysterectomy 6 days later.
Start to finish-—12 days.
.
You are blessed to have been diagnosed before Obamacare kicks in. Prayers for your continuing good health.
12 days... That was quick!
My experience was different. The first surgeon kept delaying my surgery and blaming me for the delays. Eight weeks after diagnosis, I finally went to a top surgeon who booked me for surgery within a week. (It’s good to have options!)
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