A real-world evaluation of the rapid diagnostic clinic roll out in South East London

Rapid Diagnostic Clinics (RDCs) are an established urgent suspected cancer pathway in England and Wales for patients presenting with non-site-specific (NSS) but concerning symptoms for cancer. This evaluation included data from a six-month period from 1 September 2022 to 28 February 2023. Information on all patients seen at the three South East London (SEL) RDCs within this six month period was extracted from the REDCap database. Data were analyzed according to several evaluation domains: efficiency, effectiveness (including information on patient demographics, number of referrals, referral outcomes) and patient and GP experience. Eight hundred and sixty-two patients were seen by the SEL RDCs. Most patients came from referrals from general practitioners (GPs) (93%). Only 24 patients (4.5%) were re-referred to the RDC or another specialty within 90 days of discharge and none of these patients were subsequently diagnosed with cancer. There were 47 subsequent cancer diagnoses (6%). The proportion of serious benign conditions diagnosed ranged from 15% to 19% per month. Patient and GP experiences were very positive about the service. This evaluation has demonstrated that the SEL RDC services provide an effective pathway for the management of patients with concerning non-site-specific symptoms with the ability to diagnose both cancer and non-cancer conditions. This study looked at how well Rapid Diagnostic Clinics (RDCs) are working in South east London. These clinics help patients who have worrying symptoms that might suggest cancer, but the symptoms don’t clearly point to one specific type of cancer. Information from three RDCs over six months (September 2022 to February 2023) was reviewed, including who was referred, what happened after their appointments, and how patients and GPs felt about the service. Over the 6-months reviewed, 862 patients were seen – mostly referred by their GPs. Only a small number were re-referred within three months, and none of those were later diagnosed with cancer. About 6% of all patients were diagnosed with cancer, while 15–19% each month were found to have other serious non-cancer conditions.