Email: bowelassessmentnurses@elht.nhs.uk
Phone: 01254 732319
The aim of the Lower Gastrointestinal (LGI) Rapid Diagnostic Service (RDS) is to ensure that all patients referred by a GP to endoscopy who are suitable for nurse-led care receive a telephone safety assessment and suitable investigations are arranged in an appropriate time frame with prompt communication of the results as appropriate.
Some referrals are an urgent suspected cancer referral. You may have previously heard it be called a 'two week wait referral' (2ww). This referral is to investigate your symptoms and find out what is wrong and if it could be cancer.
View Cancer Research's "What are cancer waiting times?" video here.
The service can provide support and advice from the initial nurse-led appointment until either ruling out cancer or confirming a diagnosis of cancer.
Prior to your referral to the LGI RDS, your healthcare team will have already completed a number of tests, such as blood tests and stool sample tests. They should also have reviewed these results. Your healthcare team has passed all relevant information on to the LGI RDS team at the hospital.
Does this mean I have cancer?
It is important to remember that even though you are being urgently referred, this does not mean that you have cancer.
An urgent referral means that you will be reviewed by the LGI RDS Specialist Nurse via telephone consultation and/or clinic appointment, to discuss your symptoms and decide the next steps.
How do I make my appointment?
You will receive a phone call from the LGI RDS specialist nurse who will assess which type of appointment you require. Please note that your first appointment will either be a telephone consultation or you may be directed to an outpatient clinic.
Our nurses are:
Helen Bennett
Julie Cornall
Kelly Graham
Lynsay Bradbury
Admin support:
Steven Benson
What happens after my first appointment and any other tests/scans?
You should get your diagnosis and next steps within 28 days of being referred from the your healthcare team.
If your symptoms and results indicate diagnosis of a cancer, you will be referred to the most appropriate team for further consultation and treatment. In the event that your symptoms and results show other illness or condition but not a cancer, a referral to a different specialist or consultant will be made. If the LGI RDS team cannot find any identified cause for your symptoms, you may be referred back to your GP.
You will be involved wherever possible in all decisions about your future care and treatment.
Diagnostic Tests that may be carried out during/after your first appointment:
The following tests may, or may not, be carried out as part of the Rapid Diagnostic Service investigations:
- Blood Tests – additional to those taken by your GP
- Endoscopy – a procedure where a camera is passed into the body to investigate unusual symptoms and images are relayed to a television screen. For more information please visit the Endoscopy page.
- CT scan – Computerised Tomography (CT) of the body is a diagnostic test to show more detailed images of the internal structure of your body.