Clinical prioritisation for curative radiotherapy: a local waiting list initiative.
OBJECTIVE
Waiting time for radiotherapy is a major problem in radiation oncology practice. The aim of this paper is to present the experience of the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in trialling a number of strategies to reduce patient waiting times.


METHODS
All patients starting megavoltage radiotherapy with curative intent in three separate 1-week blocks had their waiting times recorded. The cohorts were each 8 weeks apart and were before (September), during (November) and after (January) the introduction of a priority points system.


RESULTS
Median waiting time was 35 days in September, 42 days in November and 31 days in January. The number of extremely long waits (>90 days) decreased to 1 by January. Significantly more patients were pre-booked for treatment in January (27/51) compared with September (17/65; P = 0.003) and November (12/65; P < 0.001). Pre-booked patients had shorter waiting times compared with patients who was not pre-booked (P < 0.0001). Difficulties at one particular treating location contributed to the longer median waiting times in November. Although there had no significant difference in waiting time in non-breast unit patients between the three cohorts, there was a decrease in waiting times in breast unit patients, especially between November and January (P = 0.0008). There was no significant increase in delay to starting treatment in other treating units, resulting in more equitable access across all units.


CONCLUSIONS
A combination of encouraging pre-booking and the introduction of a priority points system has led to a decrease in waiting times, especially among breast unit patients.
Martin
J M
JM
Division of Radiation Oncology, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, St Andrews Place, East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Jarad.Martin@petermac.org
Ryan
G
G
Duchesne
G
G
D001071:Appointments and Schedules; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D018579:Patient Selection; D018787:Radiation Oncology; D014218:Triage / Q000379:methods*; D014739:Victoria; D014850:Waiting Lists