A guide to the GP contract 2022/23

GPs play a vital role in the early diagnosis of cancer and in supporting people living with cancer. There are contractual requirements to support this. We have guidance to help with:

  • the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF)
  • Investment and Impact fund (IIF)
  • Primary Care Network Direct Enhanced Service Contract (PCN DES).

We also have resources to support Cancer Care Reviews and quality improvement in primary care.


Access GP contract guide

Consequences of Treatment Toolkit

The Consequences of Treatment Toolkit has been designed to help Primary Healthcare Professionals support patients who are facing poor health or quality of life because of their cancer and the treatment they received. It contains resources for:

  • Supporting rehabilitation after a cancer diagnosis, including exercise and work
  • Managing ongoing symptoms after cancer and personalised care planning
  • How to access further training

Access the toolkit

Cancer Care Review guidance

A Cancer Care Review (CCR) is a conversation between a patient and their GP or Practice Nurse about their cancer journey. A CCR can help patients to:

  • talk about their cancer experience and concerns
  • understand what support is available in their community
  • receive the information they need to begin supported self-management.

We have developed resources and electronic templates to help you to support your patients.


Access guidance and resources

Rapid referral guidelines

Our Rapid Referral Guidelines are designed to help you identify children, young people and adults with symptoms of suspected cancer. They can help you decide if a referral is:

  • non-urgent – requires routine referral or tests
  • urgent – required within two weeks
  • very urgent – required within 48 hours.

The guidelines are endorsed by NICE and summarise the (NG12) guidelines for suspected cancer. They suggest what to look for in primary care, with referral recommendations and safety netting advice.

The NHS has specific Referral guidelines for Scotland.


Access the guidelines

Learning Event Analysis toolkit

The Learning Event Analysis (LEA) toolkit, is an update to the Significant Event Analysis (SEA) Toolkit, which was developed in collaboration with the RCGP. It supports GPs to reflect on cancer diagnoses and identify improvements to:

  • practice systems
  • hospital systems
  • cancer referral pathways
  • proactive safety-netting.

We provide you with templates, fictional examples of cancer SEAs and guidance to support you with completing LEAs and improving early diagnosis. 

Access the toolkit

Education and development opportunities

To find out more about the current and upcoming education and training opportunities, please visit the Learning Hub.

Log in to the Learning Hub

Electronic safety netting toolkit

The North Central London Cancer Alliance (formerly UCLH Cancer Collaborative) has developed an electronic toolkit to support GPs with safety netting in cancer-related clinical situations. The toolkit will support GPs to:

  • schedule diary reminders in their system
  • receive alerts to follow up with patients at a later date
  • share important information with patients.

The toolkit can be accessed nationally by any GP practice using EMIS Web.

Access the toolkit and resources

Top tips for primary care professionals

We've created our 10 top tips series to help primary care professionals support patients at every stage of the cancer pathway. The tips are designed to showcase best practice and offer practical advice for your role.

We have tips to support primary care professionals with:

  • early diagnosis of cancer
  • management of treatment side effects
  • prehabilitation and rehabilitation
  • palliative and end of life care
  • social prescribing.

View all top tips

Oncology and haematology risk assessment tool

We have developed a risk assessment tool to help primary care professionals recognise and manage the side effects of treatment in oncology and haematology patients.

It will help you to support patients who are:

  • at risk of immunosuppresion
  • receiving systemic anti-cancer therapies
  • undergoing radiotherapy.

The tool uses a Red, Amber, Green (RAG) system to grade symptoms and advises action accordingly.

Cancer Decision Support (CDS) tool

The Cancer Decision Support (CDS) tool helps GPs with clinical decision making. It encourages GPs to 'think cancer' and shows the risk of a patient having an undiagnosed, site-specific cancer. The tool calculates the risk of cancer based on coded information in the patient's file, including:

  • symptoms
  • medical history
  • demographic data.

How to access the CDS tool

You can access the tool from these GP IT providers:

We have created a series of video tutorials for the CDS tool.

Innovation in cancer care resources

We invest in programmes and services to help professionals adopt new and innovative ways to deliver cancer care in the UK. Working in communities and with the NHS, we fund pilots to improve experiences and outcomes for people with cancer. With this knowledge, we have created tools and resources to help you deliver:

Find out more about our work

Clinical updates for healthcare professionals

Stay up to date with the latest developments in cancer care, with expert news, opinion and analysis. You'll also find blogs about our professionals and the fantastic work they do.

Read our latest blogs for healthcare professionals.

Subscribe to our newsletters

We publish a range of newsletters for professionals who support people living with cancer. Whatever your role, we'll support you with clinical updates, tools and resources.

Subscribe now

Research and evidence

We're at the forefront of understanding the needs and experiences of people living with cancer. Get the evidence and insight you need to develop or deliver best practice in cancer care, delivered by our team of experts. 


Get insights now