Cancer referrals are being rejected by hospitals, GPs warn

Suspected cancer patients are being refused hospital appointments despite being referred by GPs, it has emerged.

Family doctors working for one NHS trust in north east London claimed that hundreds of referrals had been rejected in recent weeks.

Many were for ultrasounds and chest X-rays and were sent via the two-week wait system, in which suspected cancer patients referred by GPs are seen within a fortnight.

A rejection letter sent from Whipps Cross hospital seen by Pulse magazine, said the referral had been “due to the Covid-19 pandemic”. 

It added: “Following triage by a consultant radiologist, your imaging request has been assessed as non-urgent and cancelled.”

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Source: The Telegraph (18 May 202)