Delivering the early diagnosis of cancer PCN specification: getting started and learning from others
This joint briefing, prepared by Cancer Research UK and the PCN Network, aims to give an overview of the early diagnosis of cancer PCN specification and how it fits with the QOF quality improvement domain. It also signposts to free, evidence-based and practical resources from Cancer Research UK, highlights a case study on how to get started and provides top tips for PCNs.
The NHS Long Term Plan’s ambition for early cancer diagnosis is that by 2028, the proportion of cancers diagnosed at stages 1 and 2 will rise from around half now to three-quarters of cancer patients. Achieving this will mean that from 2028, 55,000 more people each year will survive their cancer for at least five years after diagnosis.
Primary care has a vital role to play in delivering this ambition and the full five-year framework for GP services in England takes this on board.
For 2020/21, both the (revised) quality and outcomes framework (QOF) quality improvement (QI) indicators on the early diagnosis of cancer and the early cancer diagnosis primary care network (PCN) specification recognise the pivotal role that GPs play in diagnosing cancer earlier, and focus on similar areas.
