Cancer Early Diagnosis in Primary Care - response to service specification consultation

As part of the next phase of rolling out the long term plan, NHS England consulted on 5 service specifications.  Each sets out important changes to the delivery of primary and community services from April 2020, with implications for physiotherapy.  Read the highlights and download full response.

The CSP has highlighted:

• The role of Advanced Practice Physiotherapists, including FCPs, in screening for red flags that could be indicators for cancer or masquerade as symptoms of MSK conditions.
• The importance therefore of physiotherapists in primary care, including FCPs, in early diagnosis
• The need to include physiotherapists in all processes that improve referral pathways and systems, including safety netting on presentation of non- specific symptoms aimed at identifying cancer at early stages.
• The need to include physiotherapists, in particular FCPs as part of the Community of
• Practice that receive training from specialists, from significant learning events and given peer to peer support.