The Effect of Increasing Two-Week Wait Referrals for Head and Neck Cancer in East Kent

In 1998 the UK government published its white paper The New NHS: Modern and Dependable, in which it first suggested that patients being referred with a suspicion of cancer should have a maximum wait of two weeks to see a specialist. The rationale for this was that outcomes for late-stage disease are significantly worse when compared with outcomes for early-stage disease (Table 1). It was assumed that reducing the wait to see a specialist would reduce the stage of disease at presentation.

Estimating the size of a transient population

Migratory populations often stop over for short periods of time at predictable sites along their migration routes. These staging areas can be heavily used and are potentially critical to the survival of the migrants. This paper presents a method for estimating the number of individuals using such an area and their average residence time. The estimator is based on daily population estimates and records of repeat sightings of identifiable individuals. Its application is illustrated with observations on a population of migrating birds, some of which could be identified from bands that were readable from a distance.