A successful pilot service to increase the early detection of lung cancer in Leeds has been given a 15 month extension by NHS Airedale, Bradford and Leeds.
The project, initially funded by the Department of Health, has been given the go ahead to continue after initial results showed that it was improving access to lung cancer detection services for people in the city.
NHS Leeds and Leeds Teaching Hospital won funding from the Department of Health for the “Got a Cough?” campaign in July 2010. In addition to setting up the self-referral chest x-ray service, the project has included an advertising campaign and community education programme to raise awareness of the symptoms of lung cancer. A programme of awareness events for healthcare professionals has also been run to increase awareness and prompt more referrals for chest x-rays.
Since the initiative began in January 2011, over 2000 people have used innovative walk-in chest x-ray services opened at Seacroft Hospital on York Road and St George’s Centre in Middleton. Over 200 patients have been referred on for a further CT scan and 32 cases of cancer have been found of which 25 were lung cancer. A range of other illnesses have been picked up including pneumonia, TB and heart failure. Thanks to this initiative, the number of patients referred by their GP for a chest x-ray also rose by 55 percent during 2011 compared to previous years.
One patient who has already benefited from the project is Kenneth Dorling from Seacroft. He spoke of his experiences in the Yorkshire Evening Post in November 2011 saying: “I read in the YEP that you could have an x-ray without consulting the hospital. I went to Seacroft Hospital for the test… I didn’t know at first that it [the tumour] was cancerous, though obviously it was.” Kenneth continued, “I was lucky. If I had not read that in the paper, I would’ve been none the wiser.”
Dr Mat Callister, Consultant Respiratory Physician at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is pleased with the decision. “I am delighted that NHS Airedale, Bradford and Leeds has decided to fund the project for a further 15 months. This will give us a much clearer idea of whether offering awareness and education coupled with a direct access approach to chest x-ray will support people in being diagnosed at an earlier stage in the disease.
“Early indications are that the initiative has helped a number of people who would otherwise have put off going to their GP because of fear or not wanting to waste the doctor’s time. We now plan to evaluate the work to date and see how we can ensure even more people are aware of this important service.”
The early lung cancer detection initiative will run until March 2013.
Notes
The “Got a Cough?” campaign was highly commended by the Association of Healthcare Communications and Marketing at its annual awards in November (Best Social Marketing Campaign award).
People aged over 50, with symptoms, should see their GP or go for a free chest x-ray at St George’s Centre, Middleton, which is open seven days a week from 9am to 8.30pm, or Seacroft Hospital x-ray department which is open Monday to Friday from 9.30am to 4.30pm. Under 50s should speak to their GP