Tag Archives: 18-week pathway

Introduction The National Health Service (NHS) Improvement Plan stated that by 2008 no one would wait longer than 18 weeks from GP referral to hospital treatment.1 This is, therefore, currently a key area of focus for the Department of Health and a major challenge for hospital trusts that provide cardiac services. ‘Chest pain’ is the most common indication for out-patient referral to cardiology. The delay between referral and out-patient review has been successfully reduced in our institution and across the UK by the rapid-access chest pain clinics (RACPC), with 96% of referrals nationwide being seen within two weeks.2 In this centre, up