Two Week Wait (2WW) Referrals
Critical Importance
Two week wait referrals are very important. You should pay extra attention to making sure that everything goes smoothly - mistakes could lead to delayed cancer diagnoses/treatments and may lead to serious complaints.
Referral Criteria
Referral criteria are shown on each of the forms for referral, or you can see them on the NICE website.
Pre-Referral Tests
Be aware that some referrals require you to arrange tests either before or at the same time:
- MSU for raised PSA
- FIT test and FBC for lower GI
Referral Process
- Inform the patient that they are being referred due to the possibility of/the need to rule out cancer (so they don’t get a shock if invited to a clinic with cancer in the name)
- Check their demographics are accurate (Address, Phone numbers)
- Check that they will be in the UK for the next 2 weeks and able to attend an appointment (if not we can’t send the referral until they get back)
- Do a dictation on Lexacomm FIRST (so you don’t forget)
- Make sure to change the priority to 2WW
- You do not need to include clinical information - merely state: “I have completed a 2 week wait referral form for [patient], please send it off”
- Fill in the appropriate referral form (a template letter - click here to find out how to find and fill in word template referrals)
- Currently the forms are named like this: ‘Suspected Cancer Referral - Lower GI’
- Save the form for future editing
TIP
For guidance on word template referrals, see the documentation on finding and filling in template letters.
Quick Checklist
| Step | Action | Critical? |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Inform patient about cancer referral | Yes |
| 2 | Verify demographics (address, phone) | Yes |
| 3 | Confirm availability for next 2 weeks | Yes |
| 4 | Lexacomm dictation with 2WW priority | Yes |
| 5 | Complete appropriate referral form | Yes |
| 6 | Arrange required tests (if applicable) | Yes |
| 7 | Save form for future editing | Recommended |