Safety recommendation
HSIB recommends that the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence reviews its current safety netting advice to healthcare professionals with respect to the investigation of possible lung cancer. The wording of the advice should be amended as required to make it clearer what should be offered to patients with ongoing, unexplained symptoms who have had a negative chest X-ray.
Response:
Following consideration of the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch’s report, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) will update its guideline on suspected cancer: recognition and referral [NG12]. The update will review the current safety netting advice, which highlights the possibility of false-negative results for chest X-rays, and the diagnostic pathway for people with ongoing, unexplained symptoms who have had a negative chest X-ray.
Action: Commission an update of NG12. The update will be commissioned and scheduled into the guidelines work programme considering NICE’s existing workload and agreed priorities.
Action: Update NG12, to include a review of the current safety netting advice given in recommendation 1.15.1 and the diagnostic pathway for people with ongoing, unexplained symptoms who have had a negative chest X-ray. In line with NICE’s established processes, a number of people are involved in the development of clinical guidelines (see section 1.5 of developing NICE guidelines: the manual [PMG20]). The update will follow NICE’s established processes and methods S405for updating guidelines (see chapter 14 of developing NICE guidelines: the manual [PMG20]).
Response received on 10 January 2022.