Diagnosis

When we have received the referral from your GP, we will arrange for you to either undergo a telephone assessment with one of the fast track nursing team or to come to have an out-patient consultation.

Following assessment, it is likely that investigations will be arranged. These may include an endoscopy (telescope test), a scan, or blood tests.

After your investigations, if concerns have been identified, the nurse specialist will have received a referral and will in turn discuss these with the specialists involved in your care at our weekly multi-disciplinary team ('MDT') meeting. If your investigations have not identified any cause for your symptoms, you will be referred back to your GP.

Following MDT, the specialist nurse will coordinate and communicate appointments and treatment plans. This may be in the form of telephone communication (if you have previously consented to it), face-to-face consultation with a nurse, or a clinic appointment to see a surgeon or oncologist. You will be contacted after this meeting by one of the Colorectal Nurse Specialists or other specialists, to discuss your results either over the telephone (if you have indicated that this is your preference) or in an outpatients clinic. The possible treatment options will be discussed with you: these may include surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy or endoscopic intervention. Not pursuing active treatment is always an option if this is your preference, and you will be included in the decision-making process at each stage.