The National Cancer Patient Experience Survey (NCPES) has been carried out each year since 2010, providing insights into the experience of people with cancer in England. The results are an important source of information for NHS organisations that provide cancer services, to understand patient experience to inform decision-making and improvement priorities. The latest NCPES results were published on 17 July. We have reviewed our local results from North Central London residents’ survey responses to understand our areas of progress and opportunities for improvement. We have included the main highlights from the survey below.
This year, we received just over 1,500 completed surveys across our area. It is a testament to the hard-working NHS staff that patients have, on average, given 8.8 out of 10 for overall experience of care in NCL. This is our highest result over the past four years.
Access to research opportunities for patients continues to be NCL’s best performing question. We also saw the biggest improvement in the questions relating to provision of support and care from their GP and hospital staff. Availability of information on financial help was also amongst the most improved areas.
However, the survey also identified specific areas where we need to intensify our efforts. There was a decline in scores for key questions. In particular, questions on patients having understandable information about treatment options and having a family member present when being told their diagnosis.
Addressing health inequalities:
A significant finding from the survey highlighted a stark difference in scores based on ethnicity. Respondents from mixed and Asian ethnicities reported lower satisfaction compared to white respondents regarding questions about understandable treatment information. This underscores the critical importance of ensuring equitable access to information and support for all our patients.
Our commitment to drive improvement:
We are not just identifying these challenges; we are actively developing and implementing a range of initiatives to address them. Our ongoing and new work includes:
- Enhancing patient information: Projects such as the development of videos for breast cancer end of treatment videos (with translations planned) and funding the rollout of PREPARE sessions (pre-surgery preparation and information initiated at Royal Free London) in local hospital trusts are providing vital information to patients at key stages of their cancer pathway.
- Improving communication and support: The Prostate Buddy scheme provides culturally sensitive support from non-clinical “buddies” of Black African or Afro-Caribbean heritage. This is an initiative which provides valuable peer support.
- Provision of personalised care: Our Improving Cancer Journeys project and Personalised Cancer Care programme are designed to ensure comprehensive emotional, practical, and rehabilitative support is available from diagnosis onwards.
- Strengthening primary care: New e-learning modules are being rolled out to equip GPs and practice staff with enhanced resources to support cancer patients.
- Co-designing improvements with our stakeholders: Development and delivery of a long-term strategy that focuses on delivering improvements to continually improve experience of care.
Ali Malik, Managing Director of the Cancer Alliance, said:
“We are committed to using the invaluable insights from NCPES to drive positive change for all people with cancer receiving care and support in NCL. We will continue to work closely with all our stakeholders, including experts with lived experience, to continually improve and deliver high quality patient experience for everyone in NCL alongside the best survival outcomes.”