Hospital waiting lists (FOI)

​

Request

Hospital waiting lists:

• Outpatients
• Routine
• Soon

Urgent / Emergency

​Please explain how these differ and give a few concrete examples, for cardiac and Gastroenterology and ENT.

Elective Lists

• Routine
• Soon
• Urgent / Emergency

Please explain how these differ and give a few concrete examples, for cardiac and Gastroenterology and ENT.

Response

Cardiology:

Triage is performed by the Consultant Cardiologists. 

There are no specific protocols for Cardiology Outpatient triage locally, and no specific protocols are known to be in use internationally.

Guidelines for diagnosis and management of a number of conditions are available from NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) and the European Society of Cardiology. Some of these suggest recommended timeframes for initial review (for example, for chest pain and heart failure), but this will always be dependent upon the clinical information given to the Consultant and clinic availability.

NICE guidance (nice.org.uk)

ESC Guidelines & Scientific Documents (escardio.org)

Echocardiography triage guidelines are available from the British Society of Echocardiography. Health and Community Services’ (HCS’) Clinical Investigations department are working towards formalising this triage process once electronic requesting is available.

Protocols and guidelines (bsecho.org)

Triaging posters (bsecho.org)

As information is available elsewhere, Article 23 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been applied.

ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat):

Some examples of indication for Urgent, Soon and Routine assessment / treatment are:

• Urgent:

Red flag symptoms indicating possible cancer, for example, a new neck lump.

• Soon:

Symptoms requiring attention within 2-3 months, for example, suspected cholesteatoma.

• ​Routine:

Stable symptoms that are not time sensitive, for example, septal deviation.

Guidelines for diagnosis and management of particular conditions are available from ENT UK, The Royal College of Surgeons, and NHS England. 

Clinical Guidelines (entuk.org)

The Royal College of Surgeons of England (rcseng.ac.uk)

NHS England (england.nhs.uk)

As information is available elsewhere, Article 23 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been applied.

Gastroenterology:

Some examples of indication for Urgent, Soon and Routine assessment / treatment are:

Clinic triage 

• Urgent:

Suspected cancer, for example, abnormal imaging (suspicious lesion on CT or Ultrasound)

Elevated tumour markers

Significantly elevated liver enzymes. 

• Soon:

Change in bowel habits / abdominal pain in patients who had OGD (upper gastrointestinal endoscopy) and / or colonoscopy in the last three years, with no alarm symptoms such as weight loss or bleeding per rectum.

• Routine:

Suspected IBS

Endoscopy Triage

• Urgent:

Suspected cancers, for example, patients with FIT (Faecal Immunochemical Test) positive 

Difficulty swallowing, 

Suspected inflammatory bowel disease (Faecal calprotectin elevated)

Iron deficiency anaemia. 

• Soon:

Persistent dyspepsia with no associated alarm features, such as weight change or anaemia

Persistent change in bowel habit with no anaemia and FIT negative.

• ​Routine:

Suspected irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)

Family history of bowel cancer, with no bowel symptoms and no anaemia.

Article applied

Article 23 - Information accessible to applicant by other means

(1) Information is absolutely exempt information if it is reasonably available to the applicant, otherwise than under this Law, whether or not free of charge.

(2) A scheduled public authority that refuses an application for information on this ground must make reasonable efforts to inform the applicant where the applicant may obtain the information.​