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10th Edition of International Conference on
Dentistry and Oral Health

March 13-15, 2025 | Rome, Italy
Dental 2021

Nermin Hayek

Nermin Hayek, Speaker at Dental Conferences
King’s College Hospital, United Kingdom
Title : The influence of the first coronavirus wave on the two-week-wait head and neck cancer referrals to a London hospital

Abstract:

The coronavirus Covid-19 has sent reverberations in all aspects of healthcare, where its spread in 2019 has impacted multiple National Health Services, including the head and neck cancer clinics. Early diagnosis combined with the appropriate treatment plays an unquestionable significant role in the survival rates and prognosis for head and neck cancer patients. King’s College Hospital sits in the heart of south-east London, serving a population of 700,000; however also acts as a tertiary care centre receiving referrals for a multitude of specialties from across the South of England. A retrospective review was conducted of 365 cases referred for suspected head and neck cancer to the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Oral Medicine two-week-wait clinic at King’s College Hospital during the first coronavirus wave (1st of March 2020 to 31st of September 2020) and the same time period in 2019. A total of 233 suspected head and neck cancer referrals were made via the Pan London referral pathway during the first wave in 2020, compared to 132 referrals made in 2019. A total of 3.4% (n=8) of the patients referred during the first wave were diagnosed with a subtype of head and neck cancer, compared with 9.8%(n=13) in 2019. Of these referrals, the proportion of patients not seen within the required 14-day period only slightly increased from 3.03% (n=4) in 2019 to 3.86% (n=9) in 2020. There was a significant impact from the government-enforced lockdown where reduced face-to-face examinations impacted the quantity of referrals and their diagnosis via the two-week-wait pathway. This study allows reflection of the impact of the first coronavirus wave on the two-week-wait head and neck cancer referrals and gives valuable insight for service implementation and staff reallocation in the event of future periods of waves to prevent overburdening of services.

Biography:

Nermin Hayek completed her Bachelor of Dental Surgery degree from King’s College London. She worked as a dental core trainee in the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery deperatment in King’s College Hospital and is currently carrying out a dental core training year in Community Dental Services. She is focused on furthering her post graduate education by participating in post graduate training courses-particularly in the field of paediatric dentist and orthodontics.

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