Browser does not support script.
Skip to main content
search here
Nine of London’s NHS Trusts are at the bottom of a league table measuring cancer patient experience across England, according to new data released today by Macmillan Cancer Support[1].
Following on from the Department of Health’s release of the National Cancer Patient Experience Survey two weeks ago, the cancer charity has published a league table which reveals that Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust is the poorest performing Trust on cancer patient experience for the second year running. The best performing Trust, also for the second year, is Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust.
The league table compares the performance of hospitals across England based on measures of patients’ experiences while being treated at hospital such as: whether their diagnosis and treatment options were explained clearly to them; whether they felt supported in their care; and whether they felt they were treated with respect. Patient experience is as vital as treatment to a cancer patient’s quality of life.
Ciarán Devane, Chief Executive of Macmillan Cancer Support, says:
"Though many hospitals have made an improvement, far too many cancer patients are being let down by hospitals failing to provide an adequate level of care. Patient experience and non-clinical needs must be given as much priority as medical activities. "Patient experience is one of the Government’s five key measures for success in the NHS, so Trusts need to take heed and work with Macmillan and others to urgently improve the care they offer cancer patients. I am encouraged many Trusts are taking this seriously. "Imperial, while still at the bottom of the table, is committed to addressing the problem and working well with Macmillan and cancer patients. But these things take time, and won’t happen if they do not have sustained, top-level commitment."
"Though many hospitals have made an improvement, far too many cancer patients are being let down by hospitals failing to provide an adequate level of care. Patient experience and non-clinical needs must be given as much priority as medical activities.
"Patient experience is one of the Government’s five key measures for success in the NHS, so Trusts need to take heed and work with Macmillan and others to urgently improve the care they offer cancer patients. I am encouraged many Trusts are taking this seriously.
"Imperial, while still at the bottom of the table, is committed to addressing the problem and working well with Macmillan and cancer patients. But these things take time, and won’t happen if they do not have sustained, top-level commitment."
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust scored particularly badly on areas such as whether outpatients were seen early or within 30 minutes of appointments (54% compared with 70% national average), and patients’ ease of access to their clinical nurse specialists went down (60% compared with 66% in 2010). However more patients had their first appointment with a hospital doctor as soon as they thought was necessary (76% compared with 70% in 2010)[2].
Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust scored highly on giving patients easy to understand, written information about tests (98% compared with 86% national average). The Trust showed an improvement since last year in ward nurses answering nearly all questions patients asked (84% compared with 73% in 2010) [3]. The most improved Trust is Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust.
Nine out of ten of the bottom Trusts are in London. Eight of the top performing Trusts are in the North of England.
Overall there has been good improvement across Trusts in providing information about patients’ care, but many NHS Trusts have seen no improvement in any of the areas measured.
The research also reveals that breast cancer patients in England have the best patient experience, while sarcoma patients continue to have the poorest.
Professor Jane Maher, Chief Medical Officer of Macmillan Cancer Support and Clinical Oncologist, adds:
"Hospitals are constantly having to hit targets around cleanliness and safety but not for how you treat a person. This needs to change. It is absolutely vital that patient experience is prioritised as it can make such a real difference to how patients recover from gruelling cancer treatment."
Other areas for concern highlighted in the survey were whether patients were given enough support from health and social services when they left hospital; whether they were given the right emotional support; or told about financial information. The survey does not cover the medical treatments they received, such as standards of chemotherapy or surgery.
Macmillan has produced a ‘Top Tips Guide for Patient Experience’ [4] to help Trusts that need to improve their patient experience. It provides practical steps on how hospitals can improve.
Diana, 32, a cancer patient with recurrent Hodgkin’s Lymphoma receives treatment at a London Hospital Trust. She says:
"I developed complications during my stem cell transplant, from the first day they promised to get a specialist to see me. Three weeks later my symptoms were worse and no doctor had come to see me. I wasn’t listened to, the doctors and nurses left me in such pain that I couldn’t even walk. "Upon discharge from the hospital they promised an urgent referral would be sent to the specialist. No letter was written. I wrote and called the Cancer team daily, crying over the phone begging them to get me an appointment with the specialist - It took three months to get a referral and by that time it was so bad I had to have an operation. If they’d treated me earlier I would have only needed creams."
"I developed complications during my stem cell transplant, from the first day they promised to get a specialist to see me. Three weeks later my symptoms were worse and no doctor had come to see me. I wasn’t listened to, the doctors and nurses left me in such pain that I couldn’t even walk.
"Upon discharge from the hospital they promised an urgent referral would be sent to the specialist. No letter was written. I wrote and called the Cancer team daily, crying over the phone begging them to get me an appointment with the specialist - It took three months to get a referral and by that time it was so bad I had to have an operation. If they’d treated me earlier I would have only needed creams."
If you would like support on what you can expect going through your treatment, or for support coping with cancer, call 0808 808 00 00 or visit www.macmillan.org.uk.|
Andrea Shufflebotham, Senior Media & PR Officer 0207 840 4689 (out of hours 07801 307068) ashufflebotham@macmillan.org.uk|
1. Source: Analysis based on Department of Health – National Cancer Patient Experience Survey 2011
2. Source: Department of Health. National Cancer Patient Experience Programme 2011 Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust Report
3. Source: Department of Health. National Cancer Patient Experience Programme 2011 Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust Report
4. http://www.macmillan.org.uk/Documents/AboutUs/Commissioners/Patientexperiencesurvey_Toptipsguide.pdf|
10 Best Performing Trusts*
Position
Trust Name
1
Harrogate and District NHS Trust
2
South Tyneside NHS Foundation Trust
3
Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
4
Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
5
Gateshead Heath NHS Foundation Trust
6
Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
7
Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
8
St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NGS Trust
9
Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital NHS Foundation trust
10
Tameside Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
*ranked on the number of times they appear in the top 20% of Trusts, further ranked by the number of times they appear in the bottom 20% of Trusts.
10 Poorest Performing Trusts**
Imperial College Healthcare Trust
Whipps Cross University Hospital NHS Trust
King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust
North West London Hospitals NHS Trust
University College Hospital London NHS Foundation Trust
Ealing Hospital NHS Trust
Newham University NHS Trust
Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust
North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust
**ranked on the number of times they appear in the bottom 20% of Trusts, further ranked by the number of times they appear in the top 20% of Trusts:
Patient Experience by Tumour Type - Best to Worst
Breast
Skin
Prostate
Lung
Colorectal/ Lower Gastrointestinal
Head & Neck
Haematological
Other
Gynaecological
Upper Gastrointestinal
11
Urological***
12
Brain/ Central Nervous System
13
Sarcoma
***Urological excludes Prostate cancer which was included as a separate tumour group in the survey.
A summary of the analysis can be found here: http://www.macmillan.org.uk/Documents/AboutUs/Commissioners/Patientexperiencesurvey2012.pdf|
Cancer is the toughest fight most of us will ever face. But you don’t have to go through it alone. The Macmillan team is with you every step of the way.
We are the nurses and therapists helping you through treatment. The experts on the end of the phone. The advisers telling you which benefits you’re entitled to. The volunteers giving you a hand with the everyday things. The campaigners improving cancer care. The fundraisers who make it all possible.
We are Macmillan Cancer Support.