Croydon Health Services NHS Trust scores highly and beats national average in latest Cancer Patient Experience Survey
28 July 2017
Cancer patients have rated Croydon Health Services highly in the latest national patient survey, placing it above the national average for overall care.
In the National Cancer Patient Survey, commissioned by NHS England, the Trust scored 8.8 out of 10 overall for care compared to the average for trusts across the country of 8.7.
The survey also revealed that 97 per cent of Croydon patients said that it had been ‘quite easy’ or ‘very easy’ to contact their Clinical Nurse Specialist. This compares to 93 per cent last year, beating the national average of 86 per cent.
Demonstrating the Trust’s ongoing commitment to providing high quality cancer care to the people of Croydon, the survey also highlighted that:
• 76% of patients said that they were definitely involved as much as they wanted to be in decisions about their care and treatment (compared to 70% last year)
• 89% said that they were given the name of a Clinical Nurse Specialist who would support them through their treatment (compared to 86% last year)
• 86% said that, overall, they were always treated with dignity and respect while they were in hospital (compared to 81% last year)
The survey, published last week, helps to monitor national progress on cancer care and provide information to drive local quality improvements. It assists commissioners and providers of cancer care and informs the work of the various charities and stakeholder groups supporting cancer patients.
Nicola Beech, Macmillan Lead Cancer Nurse (Head of Nursing for Cancer), said: “This is a fantastic result and shows that our continued drive to improve cancer care at Croydon is really starting to make a difference.
“The survey said 97% of patients found it easy to contact their Clinical Nurse Specialist – this is higher than the national average and six percentage points better than we did last year. Also, 90% of our patients felt assured of who to contact if they had any worries or concerns once they had left hospital. This is so important when you, and your loved ones, are dealing with cancer.”
Michael Fanning, Director of Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Professionals at the Trust said: “We are absolutely committed to giving excellent care to every cancer patient and these results show that we are moving in the right direction. We have improved on last year’s results in most areas, with our services scoring 8.8 out of 10 overall.
“In total, 86% of our patients felt that they were treated with dignity and respect, which is 11 points above the national average.”
The Trust work in close partnership with Macmillan Cancer charity. Their Cancer Centre, based at Croydon University Hospital provides invaluable support to many patients and their families. Since last year’s survey, the Trust have recruited an Advanced Nurse Practitioner, as well as three Macmillan Support Officers who all focus on caring for patients with lower gastrointestinal, prostate and breast cancers. There are plans to recruit three additional support workers in the coming year, each post being funded by Macmillan. These, along with a proposed dedicated 24hr support telephone line, further reinforce the comprehensive care offered to cancer patients at the Trust.
Additional improvements since the previous survey include:
- The introduction of electronic holistic needs assessments that enable patients to inform us of any additional requirements they need from us to support their care, either at the hospital or at home.
- Patients can now feedback on their care at the Trust on the IWantGreatCare website. It provides useful information and gives the Trust the opportunity to review their services, teams, departments and individuals in real time, enabling the targeting of cancer strategies much faster and more effectively.
- An NHS England funding award to pilot the Trust’s lead cancer nurse working with primary care colleagues to share best practice and join up pathways. This will mean those affected by cancer will receive the best care at all stages of their cancer pathway.
Mr Fanning adds: “We are confident all these measures are further improving the experience of our cancer patients by providing them with the individual care and support they need at every stage of their journey and we will continue to work hard to achieve even better results next year.”