consultant upgrade

consultant upgrade

A term of art used in the context of the UK’s so-called cancer targets created in the wake of the Calman Hine report (1995). Consultant upgrades are a mechanism introduced in 2009, which allow cancer consultants (specialists) to “upgrade” a patient at any time from when the referral was received until the decision to treat, but not after. Upgrading a referral does not convert it into a Two-Week Wait (2WW) referral. The 62 day “clock” starts when the consultant decides to upgrade and not when the original referral was received.