Non Site Specific Service

What is the Non Site Specific Service?

The Non Site Specific (NSS) Service is for people who have symptoms that are worrying and could be a cancer but are not typical of a specific cancer type. Some forms of cancer show very specific symptoms and it is clear when to refer to specific teams such as the head and neck team or breast cancer team. However, sometime things like weight loss or fatigue and vomiting cannot always be explained, especially if they are lasting for a few months.

For the person referred to NSS service we will ask your GP to do a number of tests, before your telephone appointment with the team e.g., blood tests, FIT test, x-ray. At the telephone or video appointment we will take a full history of your symptoms before booking you in for further tests e.g., CT scan, endoscopy.

When will I know the outcome of all the tests?

The National Health Service England (NHSE) recommend that someone knows whether their symptoms are because of a cancer or not within 28 days of being referred to the hospital.

You may not know your treatment plan within 28 days but you will know if you have or haven’t got a cancer.

Following all your tests if it is a cancer you will be referred straight away to the specialist team. In some cases, there is no explanation for the patient’s symptoms and in such cases we would refer back to GP or make suggestions to GP.

What is the difference between non site specific and two week wait?

If you have very specific symptoms that flag the possibility of a certain type of cancer, you will automatically be referred through what is called a two week fast track to a specific cancer team.

What benefits does the non site specific service provide?

We want to rule out that ‘vague’ symptoms are an early cancer that isn’t picked up until it is advanced and our team aims to do that.

Where we can, we do all your test on the same day. Sometimes this is not always possible and the majority of patients require additional bloods, scans and or endoscopies which are often on different days.

Someone will navigate you through all your test and keep you informed of what is happening.

This short video provides the background to non site specific services and how the NHS is moving towards rapid diagnosis for cancer referrals.

Having tests and investigations at the hospital often make people feel quite nervous and not knowing what to expect can add to the worry.

We are creating a series of videos to demonstrate certain tests and scans, to give you a picture of what will happen, with the aim of reducing some of that worry.