MORE people with lung cancer symptoms should be able to self-refer for tests rather than wait for a GP to approve, experts have suggested.

In an analysis published in the British Journal of General Practice, academics and medics called for the widespread adoption of services allowing patients to self-refer without a GP consultation.

Experts cited self-request chest X-ray services, which have been established in areas such as Leeds and Greater Manchester. Patients with symptoms such as a persistent cough, tiredness and difficulty breathing can access radiology services directly, with the report sent to their GP.

The authors claim wider rollout of these services is urgent given the “present difficulties patients face in accessing primary care.”

Report lead author Dr Stephen Bradley said: “A lung cancer diagnosis can be devastating but spotting it early can make all the difference.

“We need to make it easier for people with symptoms to get tests like chest X-rays and ways to raise awareness of the disease, including people who haven’t smoked.”

According to the NHS, more than 43,000 people each year are diagnosed with lung cancer in Britain.

The disease is more likely to be treated successfully if caught early.

Nick Whitehead, 58, from Newton Aycliffe, visited his GP several times with a persistent cough over about 18 months but was never sent for a chest X-ray.

He was eventually diagnosed with lung cancer two years later when he visited A&E after coughing up blood.

“There were many opportunities for me to be diagnosed earlier,” Mr Whitehead said. “I think I wasn’t sent for tests because I was so fit.

“As a scuba diver, my lung capacity is good, so I wasn’t short of breath, but given that we’re constantly told that a persistent cough is a symptom of lung cancer, it’s odd that I wasn’t sent for an X-ray at the very least.

“Had I had the opportunity to request an X-ray, I would have taken myself off for one. My wife would have made sure of it.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said the government’s Plan for Change to “radically reform” the NHS will “fight cancer on all fronts.”