Coronavirus (COVID-19): supporting elective care – clinical prioritisation of imaging examinations

Categorisation of imaging examinations

The below categorisation broadly mirrors that set out in the Clinical Prioritisation Framework for Supporting Elective Care, with priority levels from 1 to 3:

• priority level 1 — can wait up to 2 weeks 
• priority level 2 — can wait up to 6 weeks (or as planned for cancer surveillance)
• priority level 3 — can wait more than six weeks

Referrals waiting over 12 weeks will be subject to regular reviews and communication with the patients. 

Priority levels explained 

Priority level 1 

This priority level would include imaging referrals for:

• inpatient requiring a diagnostic imaging test
• urgent suspicion of cancer (USOC) patients, who require urgent imaging
• examinations to diagnose and/or alter treatment for significant disease or injury where delay is likely to result in: risk to function; worsening disability; or worsening pain
• patients on an active cancer pathway, where imaging is high priority

Priority level 2 

• this priority level would include routine imaging referrals with no urgent flags, excluding those in priority 3 level
• patients undergoing surveillance after cancer treatment, where imaging is high priority but likely to be non-urgent (planned scans)

Priority level 3 

This priority level would include routine imaging referrals for examinations to diagnose and/or alter treatment for disease or injury where delay is unlikely to result in risk to function, worsening disability or worsening pain.