Community liver health team visit to help reduce waiting lists in West Yorkshire

Specialists from Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust were recently at Acre Mills Outpatients with the Community Liver Health Checks vehicle in a bid to cut GP referral lists.

The van was booked by Liver Nurse Specialist, Caroline Winkley, and Specialist Nurse, Sue Goldthorpe, as an initiative to reduce the Trust’s GP referral list and backlog. FibroScan Technician Rachael Denton was also involved in the visit. 

Caroline said: “The Liver Buddies bus comes with its own driver and FibroScan technician and was operated as an extra clinic in the car park.

“The West Yorkshire Liver Network runs the initiative, and they are often seen in the community, supermarkets and in large workplaces raising awareness.”

She added: “In all, the team managed to see 30 patients despite several cancellations initially because of the weather, so we’ve booked in some return visits to further help reduce waiting lists.”

The Community Liver Health Check pilots aim to support early detection and diagnosis of liver cancer by identifying and referring those at high risk onto liver surveillance pathways.

People diagnosed with significant fibrosis or scarring of the liver are referred directly to liver cancer surveillance pathways, which aims to detect the commonest form of primary liver cancer (hepatocellular cancer) at a curable or treatable stage.