A clinical system designed to improve early cancer detection and survival rates has been launched across GP practices in Calderdale.
Pennine GP Alliance (PGPA) has partnered with C the Signs, a clinical decision support system, to help healthcare professionals identify patients at risk of cancer at its earliest and most treatable stages.
Supported by NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) and West Yorkshire and Harrogate Cancer Alliance, the initiative is part of ongoing efforts to tackle healthcare inequalities and ensure that people in Calderdale receive the best possible care.
C the Signs is fully integrated with GP computer systems and is designed to help GPs make quicker and more accurate decisions when assessing the risk of cancer.
It also streamlines the referral process by enabling GPs to refer patients to the right cancer diagnostic pathways with just one click.
And the system has a cancer dashboard that tracks patients automatically, ensuring no one falls through the cracks and that follow-up tests and results are handled promptly.
C the Signs supports GP practices in meeting key cancer care goals, helping them improve patient outcomes while meeting national healthcare targets.
Will Menzies, chief executive of Pennine GP Alliance, said the system will help GPs in Calderdale make faster, better-informed decisions to achieve early cancer detection.
‘It is already becoming an essential tool for supporting GPs in assessing cancer risks and getting patients the right care as soon as possible,’ he said.
Jason Pawluk, programme director of the West Yorkshire and Harrogate Cancer Alliance, said clinical decision support tools helped direct patients on to the right pathway.
‘These tools make an important contribution both to reassuring worried people that they do not have cancer, as well as getting those who might seen by specialists as quickly as possible,’ he said.
With many Calderdale practices already on board, it is hoped that the C the Signs initiative will improve survival rates and ultimately save lives.
