Get Your Headsmart GP toolkit
Headsmart GP: an evidence-based toolkit for faster diagnosis of brain tumours
Identify and refer suspected brain tumours faster with Headsmart GP
Every year, 13,000 people are diagnosed with a brain tumour. That’s 1-2 cases per year for the average-sized GP practice. People with a brain tumour lose around 27 years of life on average – that’s more than any other cancer.
Identifying suspected brain tumours is a major challenge for primary care as it relies on piecing together signs and symptom combinations that are often vague, subtle and non-specific.
The challenge is further increased by the fact that, often, patients don’t disclose their full symptom list, as they might be embarrassed or not see why it is relevant.
The result, sadly, is that many brain tumour puzzles are solved too late – with diagnosis taking place in emergency settings in 45% of cases in England and 74% in Scotland. This impacts on survival, quality of life and reduces the time people and their families have to come to terms with a diagnosis.
With most patients seeing a primary care professional at least three times before diagnosis, GP practice teams have an opportunity to change this.
If my GP had access to the Headsmart GP toolkit, it could have helped them dig deeper into my symptoms and led to a quicker diagnosis, which likely would have resulted in me experiencing less debilitating side effects.
Mel Kelly, 24, living with an astrocytoma
Introducing Headsmart GP: a new brain tumour toolkit for primary care
Developed by The Brain Tumour Charity in collaboration with GPs, neurologists, and radiologists across England and Scotland, Headsmart GP is an evidence-based toolkit for faster diagnosis of brain tumours.
Download bite-sized 1-page resources and/or access the longer form training – and please take the time to complete our evaluation of how it will improve your daily practice and how we can enhance the quality of the toolkit.
This toolkit is initially being piloted in the West Midlands and Lothian. Your feedback will be instrumental in ensuring that the best possible resource is made available across the country.
The Headsmart GP toolkit was developed by The Brain Tumour Charity with support from the Royal College of General Practitioners. This toolkit is available as part of a pilot in the West Midlands and Lothian and is endorsed by the West Midlands Cancer Alliance.
Dr Vicky McBride, NHS Lothian-based GP
“As a GP, and also as a relative of someone diagnosed with glioblastoma, I know first-hand how devastating delayed diagnosis can be. My family member, like so many others, was only diagnosed in an emergency setting.
I often wonder how different things might have been if the GPs involved had access to a clear, concise, and practical resource like this one. These tools give GP teams the confidence to trust their instincts, recognise red flags, and act sooner. That could change lives.“
Access the Headsmart GP toolkit now
As part of the evaluation of the effectiveness of this toolkit in helping to improve GP practice teams confidence in recognizing brain tumours, it’s really important that we capture baseline statistics of how confident you feel today. Please give honest answers to the following questions. It will help us with this project to improve faster diagnosis.