One-stop cancer clinic slashes wait times in Exeter

A new cancer service at Exeter’s Nightingale Hospital is dramatically reducing wait times and hospital visits for patients with suspected sarcoma.

The innovative one-stop pathway, based at the hospital’s recently opened Buttercup Unit, allows patients to undergo scans, biopsies and surgical consultations all in a single day.

The approach is streamlining the diagnostic process for sarcoma - a rare form of cancer that develops in bone and connective tissue - and helping provide faster answers to those anxiously awaiting results.

Where patients previously needed to attend up to four separate appointments for a diagnosis, some are now receiving everything they need in just one visit. The pathway brings together ultrasound, MRI and CT scans, guided biopsies, and consultations with specialist surgeons and cancer nurses - all under one roof.

Royal Devon Specialist Plastic and Reconstructive Sarcoma Surgeon Woan-Yi Chan said, “This service has cut the time from referral to diagnosis from an average of 40 days to 12 days. This means we can start treatment more quickly if patients do have cancer, and we can provide peace of mind for those who don’t.”

The Nightingale Hospital, which was originally built during the COVID-19 pandemic, has since been transformed into an elective care hub with a strong focus on reducing backlogs and improving patient care. Since launching, the sarcoma pathway has helped over 800 patients, with most able to access MRI scans during the same visit.

Consultant MSK Radiologist Rahul Anaspure added, “The one-stop service is the only one of its kind in the South West and we’re incredibly proud of the difference it is making.”

Patients have described the new experience as “kind, diligent and efficient,” with one noting that staff even carried out their biopsy during the appointment to avoid a second journey.

Royal Devon CEO Sam Higginson praised the unit’s contribution to reducing regional waiting times, “The Sarcoma Service at the Nightingale Hospital can give patients the tests they need in one visit on one day instead of them waiting more than a month to find out their diagnosis. The co-location of the Devon Diagnostic Centre makes services like this possible.”

The team behind the service say it’s not only improving outcomes for individuals but also having a positive knock-on effect across the South West by reducing the pressure on other services.