A new project has explored how “safety netting” can be used effectively to improve the timely diagnosis of cancer in UK primary care, researchers have reported.

Researchers in Bradford have been developing systems to enable practice staff to explain to patients the uncertainty around symptoms – and when and why they need to report changes or extra symptoms. Dr Jane Heyhoe of the Bradford Institute for Health Research, UK, and colleagues set out to develop a system based on safety netting, examining various formats and contents of an effective intervention.

They looked at how such a system could be implemented in practice and how to make it acceptable to all stakeholders – staff and patients. Workshops and focus groups were held with patient representatives, GPs, and nurse practitioners. This led to a prototype which was then further refined. The resulting intervention incorporated visual and written communication, clear timelines for monitoring symptoms, and would be available in paper and electronic forms. It was also deemed necessary that it should be deliverable within a ten minute consultation. Details appeared in the British Journal of General Practice yesterday.

The authors write that the intervention was based on themes including “building confidence through partnership”, “using familiar and current procedures and systems”, and “seeing value”. Their Shared Safety Net Action Plan (SSNAP) will “assist the timely diagnosis of cancer in primary care” state the authors.

“The process of interlinked stakeholder input and feedback identified important principles for a safety-netting intervention and the format and content of the intervention prototype,” they add.

The SSNAP supports staff and patients “to have an open conversation about uncertainty in diagnosis, providing a clear way and timeframe for reviewing symptoms, and establishing a plan for returning to primary care for re-assessment if necessary”, the authors write.