Breast Cancer - FOI Response Register

1. Does your Health Board have a protocol document that sets out what follow up primary breast cancer patients should be offered when they complete their hospital-based treatment and the details of how this process works?

If yes, please share your current, or most recent, version of this protocol.

2. Are all hospitals that form part of your Health Board following the processes set out in the protocol document for primary breast cancer?

If no, please send the primary breast cancer related protocols of each hospital covered by the Health Board?

3. At the end of hospital-based treatment do you provide primary breast cancer patients with information about the signs and symptoms of primary breast cancer?

If yes- please provide a copy of the information provided or a link to the information if it is available online. If this information is part of a longer document please provide the full document.

If yes, please indicate whether patients are signposted to further services/ sources for support for this information and if they are, please provide details for these services/sources of information.

If no, please indicate whether patients are signposted to further services/sources of support for this information and if they are, please provide details for these services/sources of information.

4. At the end of hospital-based treatment, do you provide primary breast cancer patients with information about the signs and symptoms of secondary breast cancer?

If yes- please provide a copy of the information provided or a link to the information if it is available online. If this information is part of a longer document please provide the full document.

If yes, please indicate whether patients are signposted to further services/sources for support for this information and if they are, please provide details for these services/sources of information.

If no, please indicate whether patients are signposted to further services/sources of support for this information and if they are, please provide details for these services/sources of information.

5. How many patients did you treat for primary breast cancer that finished their hospital-based treatment in each of the Financial Years 2022-23 and 2023- 2024?

6. For the Financial Years 2022-23 and 2023-24, of the primary breast cancer patients that completed hospital-based treatment, please provide an estimate of what proportion were initially stratified to each follow up pathway?

In accordance with FOISA s 17(1), NHS Shetland confirms that it does not hold the information requested.

a)         A PIFU pathway

b)         A pathway with routine, annual outpatient appointments

If you can provide the figures spilt between the age under 45 category and age 45 and over category that would be useful but if the information is not readily available by age, please provide for all ages combined.

7. At the end of hospital-based treatment, do all primary breast cancer patients covered by your Health Board receive routine follow up for a set period of time before a decision is made about whether they are placed on PIFU?

In accordance with FOISA s 17(1), NHS Shetland confirms that it does not hold the information requested.

If yes, which hospitals offer this and for each hospital how long is the set period of time?

Description of the PIFU pathway

We are hoping to understand in more detail how the primary breast cancer PIFU pathway works and how people are able to make contact when they have a concern. If you are providing a protocol document as part of your response, you only need to respond to questions 8, 9, 10 and 11 if the answers to these questions are not fully available in the document.

8. If a patient wants to raise a concern about a breast cancer sign or symptom (either primary breast cancer or secondary breast cancer) while on a PIFU pathway, what are the options for them to do so (please tick all that apply):

N/A

9. Are all breast cancer patients on a PIFU pathway logged and tracked on the organisation’s IT system?

N/A

10.       Is there a standard time limit on how long PIFU is available to breast cancer patients e.g. 5 years?

N/A

If yes, what is the standard time limit?

If yes, how frequently is the standard time limit applied

If any patients have a difference to the standard time limit, please detail and explain in what circumstances this occurs and the range of time limits?

N/A

10. When it is time for a breast cancer patient to be discharged from PIFU, are they notified, e.g. by letter or phone?

N/A

If yes, please explain how they receive this notification and provide a copy of the standardised information they would receive at that point, if it is in written form. 

We are keen to discuss in more detail the answers to this FOI. If this is something you would consider, please let us know and we will follow up if needed.

-           Yes

-           No

If yes, the person to contact is: