For professionals

Red flag referrals
All patients who are suspected of having cancer should be referred by the patient’s General Practitioner (GP) to their local hospital unit within one of five health and social care trusts in Northern Ireland.
Patients with symptoms of cancer should be referred to secondary care as a ‘red flag’ or suspect cancer referral. Red flag is the term used to indicate that this is a referral for a patient who is suspected of having cancer.

The Northern Ireland Guidance for Suspected Cancer reflects recommended best practice for the referral of patients with suspect cancer. The guidance was developed by the Northern Ireland Cancer Network’s (NICaN) Tumour Groups and Primary Care Group and builds on existing NICE guidance on referral of patients with suspected cancer.

The aims of the guidance are:
- To facilitate appropriate referral between primary & secondary care for patients whom a GP suspects may have cancer
- To improve cooperation & communication between general practice and the hospital sector
- To promote better quality and equitable care for people in Northern Ireland
A copy of the guidance can be accessed here.
Job opportunities

To view a list of the current job opportunities available within the Health and Social Care sector in Northern Ireland please visit the HSC NI Jobs website.
Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology

The Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology (CCRCB) has been developed with the explicit aim of translating basic scientific programmes into the clinical arena. A key element of this development was the creation of a new research building, which opened in July 2007, adjacent to the Northern Ireland Clinical Cancer Centre on the Belfast City Hospital campus. As a result of the development of the CCRCB, the first comprehensive Cancer Centre in Ireland has been established, promoting international quality research programmes linking Queen’s University Belfast and the Health Service.

This programme, which was recognised at Buckingham Palace on 24 February 2012 with a Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education in this Diamond Jubilee year, is the most prestigious honour a higher education institution can receive. The hallmark of our research programme is a close collaborative interaction between clinical and laboratory experts that ultimately enhances the quality and scope of our basic and clinical research programmes in cancer.

For further information on research programmes visit the CCRCB website
Useful links
A list of useful websites for professionals has been provided below. Please select one of the links below for further information:

For professionals

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