Rapid Diagnosis Centre - Swansea Bay University Health Board

Swansea Bay Rapid Diagnosis Centre (RDC) was established in June 2017 and is recognised as Wales’ flagship RDC. Its model focuses on delivering as many diagnostics as possible on the same day and initially targeted patients with vague but concerning symptoms. Its success in addressing unmet clinical need—while significantly reducing time to diagnosis—led to the RDC at Neath Port Talbot Hospital becoming a permanent service within Swansea Bay University Health Board.

Building on this success, between 2021 and 2023, Moondance Cancer Initiative supported the Swansea Bay team to pioneer a second phase of innovation—this time focusing on rapid diagnosis for specific cancer sites. The aim was to tackle those with the poorest outcomes and the greatest delays in current diagnostic pathways.

In late 2021, the team undertook detailed pathway redesign and operational planning, resulting in the introduction of two new rapid diagnosis pathways: one for younger patients (30-60) with suspected colorectal cancer and one for patients with suspicious neck lumps.  The work also included the introduction of a biopsy clinic and funding for a therapeutic radiographer, which combined, aimed to deliver a gold standard of care for patients with Malignancy of Unknown Origin (MUO). This service enhancement sought to reduce waiting times for treatment and the number of hospital visits for MUO patients, who have been historically under-served by traditional cancer pathways

These pathways were successfully implemented throughout 2022 and 2023. Evaluation was supported by the team at the Swansea Centre for Heath Economics who had previously conducted the health economic evaluation of the RDC at Neath Port Talbot Hospital for patients with vague symptoms. 

The new pathways were able to demonstrate a 10.78% cancer conversion rate for the colorectal and 12.15% for neck lumps. 

As a result of this work, Swansea Bay University Health Board has committed an additional £390,000 annually to expand the RDC service permanently. This funding supports the continuation of the neck lump and biopsy clinics, the introduction of a new lymphadenopathy pathway, and the expansion of vague symptom clinics from two to three per week. Additionally, learning from the trialled RDC colorectal pathway has now been adopted into the standard colorectal pathway for all patients in Swansea Bay.  These enhancements have solidified the RDC’s role as a cornerstone of early cancer diagnosis in the region and provide a scalable model for other health boards across Wales.