Have your say in the national cancer patient experience survey

If you’re aged 16 plus and have received cancer treatment at Medway Maritime Hospital, either as an inpatient or day patient between April and June this year, you may be asked to take part in the National Cancer Patient Experience Survey (NCPES) later in the year.

If you are invited, you will get a letter with more information. Please take part and share your experiences of cancer care so we can understand what is working well and what needs to change. Your feedback will then be used by us to help improve our services.

The anonymous survey, which is designed to capture the patient’s journey from GP to diagnostics and treatment, takes around 20 minutes to complete. You can take part online, on paper, or over the phone. If you need help or want to take part in another language, you can call the free helpline at 0800 103 2804. Your personal data will be kept safe.

Feedback in the 2023 National Cancer Patient Experience Survey (CPES) we improved in 27 areas when compared to the previous year.

Our most improved areas were as follows:

• Patients were told they could have a family member or carer or friend with them when they were told their diagnosis – 81 per cent up from 73 per cent in 2022 (national score was 81 per cent)
• The patient’s family, or someone close, was definitely able to talk to a member of the team looking after the patient in hospital – 65 per cent up from 60 per cent in 2022 (national score was 70 per cent)
• Patients felt the length of waiting time at clinic and day unit for cancer treatment was about right – 80 per cent up from 71 per cent in 2022 (national score was 78 cent)

While we retained the same scores in five of the questions, in 18 of them we received a lower score than the previous year. One of the questions we scored significantly lower in was discussing cancer research opportunities with patients, achieving only 30 per cent compared to 33 per cent (the national score was 45 per cent).

Laura Potter, Divisional Director of Nursing and AHP for Cancer and Core Clinical Services, said: “We are using this valuable feedback to make improvements in the areas that really matter to our patients so that we meet their needs and preferences, and patients in our care have a positive experience while undergoing their cancer treatment with us.”

Since the 2023 survey results we have:

• increased the number of clinics we run to help more patients complete a health needs assessment so they can get the right help and support during their cancer journey
• increased the number of health and wellbeing events for patients, including the launch of a new haematology cancer patient support group in the community, with further plans to set up events for patients with lower gastrointestinal cancer
• increased the opportunities for patients to be able to tell us about their experiences so we can action any necessary improvements faster
• improved how patients access the information available to them thanks to the work of a new trust-wide action group that ensures equitable access for patients.

For more information about the survey, visit www.ncpes.co.uk.

You can read our full results on the CPES website