An audit to analyse the two-week wait pathway at an oral cancer specialist district general hospital

Background The incidence of head and neck cancers is increasing, alongside a decrease in associated mortality. Currently, medical and dental practitioners can refer patients to be seen urgently within two weeks. The appropriateness of these referrals has been disputed. In 2020, the Department of Health aims for patients to be given cancer diagnoses within 28 days from referral. Methods A retrospective audit was conducted for all patients referred under the two-week wait pathway in a six-month period. In the first cycle of this audit, one month's worth of urgent referrals were analysed; given the small sample size, very few recommendations could be made. The audit cycle was repeated and it analysed six months' worth of data, which gave a much more representative study. All patients were analysed to see if the 14-day period had been breached. Positive cancer patients were further assessed to see if their diagnosis had been given within 28 days and treatments within 62 days. Results Of the 569 patients seen, there was a positive malignancy diagnostic yield of 7.38%. Nineteen patients breached the 14-day wait. Of the positive patients, 45.2% received their diagnosis more than 28 days from referral, and 22.2% of these patients received treatment after 62 days. Conclusion The department performed well despite the high number of referrals. This audit has touched on some key issues which have been discussed in detail in this article. Furthermore, this audit recommends a concerted effort to improve oral cancer detections skills among GDPs and GMPs. While all referrals may be appropriate from a primary care point of view, this audit makes it apparent that better differentiation is needed between malignant and routinely manageable lesions. All secondary care units alongside general practitioners can learn from the findings of this audit.