Table 3 The NHS scheme for prioritizing patients for surgery by anticipated outcome

From: Caring for patients with cancer in the COVID-19 era

Priority level 1a:

Emergency: operation needed within 24 h to save life (e.g., perforated tumor)

Priority level 1b:

Urgent: operation needed within 72 h (e.g., obstruction not able to be relieved by stent), based on:

 

Urgent/emergency surgery for life-threatening conditions such as obstruction, bleeding and regional and/or localized infection, or permanent injury/clinical harm from progression of conditions such as spinal cord compression

Priority level 2:

Elective surgery with the expectation of cure prioritized according to:

 

within 4 weeks to save life/progression of disease beyond operability based on:

 

– urgency of symptoms

 

– complications such as local compressive symptoms

 

– biological priority (expected growth rate) of individual cancers

 

Local complications may be temporarily controlled, for example, with stents if surgery is deferred and/or interventional radiology

Priority level 3:

Elective surgery can be delayed for 10–12 weeks with no predicted negative outcome

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