Waiting times for treatment cut

HARROGATE and District NHS Foundation Trust’s Lung Cancer Service is utilising new procedures and cancer staging equipment to improve patient care and reduce waiting times for treatment.

The trust’s new staging equipment allows Endobronchial Ultrasound Scans (EBUS) to be performed by trained members of HDFT’s Lung Cancer Service at Harrogate District Hospital.

EBUS is used for diagnosing and staging lung cancer, as well as for evaluating other conditions affecting the airway and lungs, such as infections and chronic inflammatory diseases.

After identifying the lesion on the CT scan, clinical specialists can take a sample of tissue for further cancer testing.

The scan and procedure takes under an hour to complete with the patient usually being able to go home the same day.

Dr Khizer Khan, consultant in respiratory medicine at HDFT, said: “Previously patients would need to be referred to other NHS trusts for the EBUS procedure, leading to patients waiting during the referral process and inconvenient trips for patients between hospitals.

“However, with the ability to perform EBUS scans at Harrogate District Hospital, patients can receive more timely assessment and then treatment based on their current cancer diagnosis.”

HDFT has worked collaboratively with York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to train more nursing staff to use the equipment, with HDFT’s first successful EBUS taking place in January.