Lung Cancer
NHSL Referral Pathways
Warning
This pathway has been approved for use in NHSL by the Clinical Guidelines Governance and Editorial Group
Smoking Status
Within NHS Lanarkshire, smoking status is essential to secondary care colleagues in vetting. This ensures patients are stratified by risk, and allows patients to be appointed to the most appropriate investigation at the point of vetting. For this reason, when you refer patient on an Urgent Suspicion of Cancer basis, you will be required to include the patient's smoking status from the following options:
- Current smoker
- Ex-smoker
- Never-smoker
- Ex-smoker
- Never-smoker
Chest x-ray
Alongside smoking status, to aid the vetting of Urgent Suspicion of Cancer referrals you will be required to include the chest x-ray status of the patient. The respiratory team review the most recent chest x-ray images as part of the vetting process, and so to ensure smooth vetting practice, you will be required to indicate whether the patient has had an x-ray which has been reported (normal or abnormal), or whether they have been asked to attend for this (they should be asked to attend for this at the point of referral).
It is important that when you are asking a patient to attend for a chest x-ray in the context of concern of possible lung or pleural cancer, that you clearly mark the radiology request card with this information provided e.g. 'USC', 'USOC', or 'Urgent Suspicion of Cancer'. This ensures that the x-ray is flagged for urgent reporting after the patient has had their x-ray taken.