Pharmacists can put patients on the fast track to fight cancer
PHARMACISTS have been given the power to fast track customers to hospital if they suspect they may have lung cancer.
Lung cancer is the UKs biggest cancer killer, with almost 35,000 fatalities each year. But doctors claim this number could be reduced if patients are diagnosed earlier.
Pharmacists across Macclesfield are now being asked to keep an eye out for anyone who approaches them request- ing medication for chest problems and is showing symptoms.
The pilot scheme means they send patients directly to Macclesfield and District General Hospital for an x-ray without the need for a referral from their GP, meaning treatment can begin sooner.
Project lead Dr Sriram Lyer is a consultant respiratory physician with East Cheshire NHS Trust, the organisation that runs Macclesfield Hospital.
He said: “Sadly all too often, lung cancer isn’t diagnosed in patients until the later stages of the disease when it becomes very difficult to treat. This is partly because many patients often put off seeking advice from their GP for symptoms like chest pains and persistent coughs, perhaps because they fear finding out they have lung cancer or because the symptoms are mistaken for ‘normal’ coughs and chest irrita- tion. A significant proportion of patients avoid seeking help for so long that they are only diagnosed after attending an Accident and Emergency department, which they have gone to because their symptoms have become so severe. Through this project we hope to speed up the diagnosis of people with lung cancer both by streamlining the process and by capturing patients who might not have made an appointment with their GP but will go to their local pharmacy for advice and medication.”
The scheme has backing from Eastern Cheshire Clinical Commissioning Group and local GPs.
Suzanne Austin, contractor support pharmacist working for Community Pharmacy Cheshire and Wirral, said: “Pharmacists and their counter assistants are trained to ask questions of patients when they come in to buy medicines and will pick up on signs and symptoms which would identify patients who would benefit from an x-ray. Now they can direct the patient straight to the hospital for quicker access to an x-ray, reducing the time for a diagnosis which could be vital with lung cancer.”