The National Cancer Patient Experience Survey 2019 is conducted each year and asks a range of questions about the care patients receive during their cancer journey, from first appointments, to treatment and their ongoing care.
Patients gave Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust a rating of 9.1 out of 10 overall for their cancer care, the third highest score of the 143 trusts in England that took part.
Out of the 61 survey questions put to patients, Gateshead scored higher than the national average in 24 of them. These included:
- 93% of patients always felt they were treated with dignity and respect
- 95% of patients said they’d been given the name of their clinical nurse specialist and 92% found it easy to contact them
- 95% of patients were told who to contact if they were worried about their condition or treatment after leaving hospital
Gateshead has a strong track record of providing good cancer care for patients and the hospital has regularly featured at the top of national league tables measuring patient experience across England.
Julie Lamb, head of cancer services/lead cancer nurse, said: “Finding out you have cancer is one of the most difficult things someone will ever face so we are extremely pleased that our patients have found us to be one of the best in the country for their care.”
“It is also very positive to hear that the vast majority of patients feel they are treated with dignity and respect. We have highly experienced cancer nurse specialists who provide the one-to-one support that is crucial to cancer patients.”
Surgeon Mark Katory, the trust’s lead cancer clinician, said: “In Gateshead we’re all determined to provide the best possible treatment and care for patients with cancer and I’d like to thank all my colleagues working in this field for their hard work and dedication.”
“Thank you also to the patients that took the time to complete the survey – their feedback is invaluable for us and it’s good to hear directly from patients about the care they have received.This gives us a valuable insight into how patients feel about the services we provide, what’s working and what could be done better. Every year we strive to continue to improve and we will be analysing the results of this report to how we can make an even bigger difference to our patients dealing with cancer.”
The 2019 Cancer Patient Experience Survey, now in its ninth year, was conducted by the Picker Institute prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, asked 67,000 people living with and beyond cancer about all aspects of their care and treatment.
Download the full results from the survey