Plain-English explanations of the technical terms and legislation used in this document.
- Appointment Slot Issue (ASI)
- A referral that could not be booked straight away because no suitable appointment slot was available, so the receiving service has to deal with it.
- Blood-borne virus (BBV)
- An infection such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C or HIV that can be passed on through blood.
- Care Quality Commission (CQC)
- The independent regulator of health and social care services in England.
- Data Protection Act 2018
- The UK law that sets the rules for collecting, storing and using people's personal information.
- Did not attend (DNA)
- When a patient does not turn up for a booked appointment and did not cancel beforehand.
- Direct-access investigation
- A test, such as a scan or endoscopy, that a GP can order directly without first referring the patient to a specialist.
- Duty of candour
- The legal duty to be open and honest with a person and their family when something goes wrong with their care.
- e-Referral Service (e-RS)
- The national electronic system used to refer patients from general practice to hospital and other services and to book or change their appointments.
- Failsafe
- A backup check that makes sure an urgent referral is not missed, by confirming it has been received, accepted and booked.
- Faster Diagnosis Standard (FDS)
- The national standard that people referred urgently with suspected cancer should have cancer confirmed or ruled out within a set number of days.
- General Medical Council (GMC)
- The body that registers doctors in the UK and sets the standards they must follow.
- Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014
- The regulations setting the fundamental standards of safety and quality that care providers must meet, enforced by the Care Quality Commission.
- Informed consent
- Agreement to treatment or referral given freely after the risks, benefits and alternatives have been clearly explained.
- Integrated Care Board
- The local statutory body responsible for planning and arranging health services for its area.
- National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)
- The national body that produces evidence-based guidance on treatments and care.
- Near miss
- An event that could have caused harm but did not, by chance or because it was caught in time.
- NICE guideline NG12
- National guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence setting out the symptoms and signs that should prompt an urgent referral for suspected cancer.
- Proforma
- A standard referral form with set fields that must be completed for a particular service or condition.
- Referral to Treatment (RTT)
- The pathway and clock that measure how long it takes from a patient being referred to the start of their treatment.
- Registered Manager
- The person registered with the regulator as responsible for the day-to-day running of a service.
- Regulated activity
- A type of care or treatment the law requires a provider to register with the regulator to deliver.
- Safeguarding
- Protecting people's health, wellbeing and rights and keeping them safe from abuse, harm or neglect.
- Safety-netting
- A clear plan telling the patient what to expect, which symptoms should make them seek help, and what the practice will do if the referral does not progress.
- Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)
- A written, step-by-step instruction describing how a particular task should be carried out consistently and safely.
- Triage
- Sorting referrals or patients by clinical priority so that the most urgent are dealt with first.
- Two-week-wait (2WW)
- An urgent referral for suspected cancer, where the patient should be seen by a specialist within two weeks.
- UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR)
- The UK's main data-protection law governing how personal information is collected and used.
- Unique Booking Reference Number (UBRN)
- The reference number created by the e-Referral Service that identifies a particular referral and lets the patient book their appointment.
- Unique patient identifier
- The single number used to identify a patient correctly across health services.
- Urgent suspected cancer (USC) referral
- The current name for a two-week-wait referral, made when a patient's symptoms meet the criteria for suspected cancer.