Cancer 62 Day Patient Tracking List (CANPTL) data collection

The Cancer 62 Day Patient Tracking List (CANPTL) collection is a weekly snapshot which shows the number of patients on the cancer 62-day pathway, who are at risk of breaching the 62-day standards.

From the 30 May 2022 (from week ending 29th May) this collection has been remodelled to also include

• the number of patients who have passed 28 days in the last 7 days
• change in time points captured by days from 0-33, 34-62, 63-104, greater than104 to  0-28, 29-62, 63-104, greater than 104
• referrals/upgrades made on an urgent suspected cancer referral/upgrade in the last 7 days. This will include the split by urgent suspected cancer, urgent breast symptomatic, urgent screening and consultant upgrade
• first seen on an urgent suspected cancer referral as an aggregate of face to face and virtual consultations

The remodelled PTL Dataset collection will be launched week commencing 30 May 2022, for data collection for the week prior (week ending 29 May 2022)

The data collection will open each Monday and the submission deadline will be at the end of the day on Wednesday for submission of the previous week’s data. By exception this timetable may change - for example, to accommodate bank holidays.

For guidance using the Strategic Data Collection Service (SDCS), refer to the SDCS guidance page.

The dataset

The Cancer 62 Day PTL (Patient Tracking List) data collection is a weekly snapshot that captures the number of patients on a cancer 62-day pathway. This includes patients on a 62-day pathway who have had a decision made to treat their cancer, and patients who have not had a decision made to treat their cancer waiting until 23:59 Sunday of the reporting week. This also includes the number of first definitive treatments on a 62-day pathway following an urgent suspected cancer referral in the reporting week up to 23:59 on Sunday.

The collection covers:

• two months (62-day) wait from urgent referral to first definitive treatment
• two months (62-day) wait from urgent referral from screening service
• two months (62-day) wait from consultant upgrade
• patients referred on the breast symptomatic standard

Scope

The collection is submitted by NHS trusts that provide cancer services.
This includes:

• patients on a 62-day pathway who are referred for urgent suspected cancer referral
• patients on a 62-day pathway following an urgent referral from an NHS Cancer Screening Programme (breast, cervical or bowel
• patients referred following a breast symptomatic referral
• patients on a 62-day pathway following a consultant upgrade

Removal from the PTL

A patient is removed from the 62-day pathway and PTL monitoring under the following circumstances:

• When the organisation communicates to the patient that a cancer diagnosis has been excluded
• when a first definitive treatment or permitted enabling treatment has been completed
• Where a patient declines treatment
• Where a patient chooses to receive treatment privately.
• Death occurs before treatment

Inter-provider transfers

Where a trust refers a 62-day patient to another trust for treatment, the patient should be removed from the referring trust’s 62-day PTL and added to the receiving Trust’s PTL.
In such cases, the patients start date on the 62-day pathway remains the same (that is the patient must still be treated within 62 days of the clock start). 

Treatments provided before a diagnosis is known

Skin patients who have an excision intended as a treatment can be excluded from national reporting to the Cancer PTL when the procedure has taken place and while waiting for the pathology results or the patient to be told their diagnosis. If the patient has a reportable cancer, then the patient will have already received their first cancer treatment for cancer as defined by the Cancer Waiting Times guidance. 

The same principles would apply to other pathways where a patient has received their treatment, but it’s not known if they have a reportable cancer till pathology from surgery is reported (e.g. some Ovarian or Kidney tumours).

Whilst these patients are excluded from the National Cancer PTL reporting, at this stage of the pathway, it’s important that providers ensure that robust local tracking and safety netting is in place, so these patients are followed up promptly.

Collection timeframe and deadline

Data should be provided for the collection covering the period of the previous Monday (from 00:00) to Sunday (to 23:59) prior to the collection submission window opening on the following Monday morning.

Returns should be submitted to the Strategic Data Collection Service by 17:00 on the Wednesday after the collection period ends. 

You should include patients waiting from referral/upgrade date by the number of days waited as at midnight Sunday of the reporting week.

Patients are recorded under time brackets for each individual tumour type according to how long they have been waiting on the pathway, the time brackets are as follows

• day 0-28
• day 29-62
• day 63-104
• day greater than 104 (that is, 105 days and more)

For each individual tumour type the number of patients passing 28 days,  62 days, and the number of patients passing 104 days in the last 7 days are recorded.

Urgent suspected cancer

Patients on a 62-day pathway who are referred for urgent suspected cancer.  

Patients are recorded according to the tumour type they are referred under.

If the patient has been transferred to another team within the trust on the suspicion of a different type of cancer, in this case the patient should be recorded under this tumour type and new team.

To ensure ease of collection and to make sure all metrics are feasible to be submitted accurately, we will not be asking to collect numbers of acute leukaemia waiters separately from haematological, nor testicular from urological.

Breast symptomatic

Patients referred on the breast symptomatic pathway (where cancer is not suspected).

Urgent screening

Patients referred urgently from one of the three national screening services (breast, bowel and cervical).

Patients who subsequently have their tumour type updated after investigations should continue to be recorded under the screening service they were referred from until they are removed from the PTL.

Consultant upgrade

Patients who have had their pathway upgraded from a referral to treatment (RTT) pathway to a 62-day pathway.

This covers patients with a first primary cancer only.

You should include patients, as of 23:59 Sunday of the reporting week, patients that are waiting on the pathway to determine if they have cancer, or have had cancer diagnosed and have not yet had a decision to treat for their cancer.

You should include patients, as of 23:59 Sunday are waiting on the pathway who have had a decision to treat their cancer but have not yet received their treatment for cancer.

You should include those patients who received their first definitive treatment in the last 7 days on the 62-day urgent suspected cancer pathway. That is, those who were treated in the scope of sections 1.1 and 2.1 of the template in Annex A.

Patients are recorded under the time bracket that corresponds to when they received their first definitive treatment

• by day 62 
• between day 63-104
• after day 104 (that is, 105 days and more)

The guidance relating to the Cancer Waiting Times should be referenced for definitions of what should be counted as a first definitive treatment.

For surgery, pathology may not be reported given the timescales, so for the purposes of this return patients should be included where the intention is to remove or debulk the tumour and the patient has confirmed or assumed cancer at the time of reporting.

You should include patients who, as of 23:59 Sunday, have been referred or upgraded in the last 7 days via either an urgent suspected cancer, breast symptomatic or urgent screening referral or upgraded onto the consultant upgrade pathway in the last 7 days.

Patients are recorded under the route and suspected cancer type for this part of the return.

For referrals this should include all referrals received by the trust either via E-RS or other routes, including where there are Appointment Slot Issues (ASI).

You should include patients who, as of 23:59 Sunday, who have been first seen following an urgent suspected cancer referral (including non-site specific).

This is only collected for the urgent suspected cancer route and split by suspected cancer type.

The Cancer Waiting Times guidance version 11 alongside the clarification guidance should be reviewed for a definition of what counts as a first seen date.

To include details of any breaches in the last 7 days.

Any queries should be emailed to: [email protected]