….You just need to look in the right place.
A close friend of mine, I’ll call her Jane, is
currently undergoing treatment for cancer. She’s had a tough time of it – with chemotherapy,
radiotherapy, surgery and now another course of chemo. Jane’s prognosis is excellent
and she has approached the past year with remarkable pragmatism and calm. I commented on her bravery and she said, ‘well I get a bit worried before some new treatment,
but when I’m at the hospital – there’s no need to be frightened – after all,
the doctors and nurses know what they are doing so I don’t have to be scared’. A simple view but what a precious aid to
recovery this confidence must bring. I am very familiar with the unit where Jane
is being treated and it is a fantastic collaboration between the charity, Cancer
Research UK and an NHS trust. A powerful mix of personally tailored treatment
regimes, focussed care, innovation and even carefully controlled experimentation
are all designed to give each patient the very best chance of survival or extended
life expectancy.
The reason I know the unit well because my late
husband Bob was treated there for several years. Although he suffered from an incurable
cancer, he took part in four clinical trials with the equally important aim of
helping others and staying with his loved ones for longer. I shall never forget
the kindness and professionalism of the Oncologist who looked Bob straight in
the eye, without a hint of pity but with plenty of determination and said ‘we will do everything we can to keep you as
well as possible, for as long as possible’. You can’t ask for more than
that can you?
But back to the good news. The results from a
recent National Cancer Patient Experience Survey have just been published by the
Department of Health. Cancer Research UK welcomes this survey as a useful barometer
of patient views and the results are encouraging. Questioned about treatment
choices, information, and access to specialists, 88% cancer patients rated
their overall care as ‘excellent’ or ‘very good’ and 98 Health Trusts improved
their scores over last year.
I’ll say that again 88% of cancer patients
surveyed rated their overall care as ‘excellent’ or ‘very good’. How come this
doesn’t make a headline in the UK press?
Cancer Research UK states that the two key
issues of greatest concern are research and early diagnosis. 20% of cancer
patients surveyed were taking part in some sort of research study so the good
news goes on, but the weak link in the chain is early diagnosis. The survey
results show that nearly half of the patients still see their GP several times
before seeing a specialist and 1 in 5 ends up at a hospital without even seeing
their family doctor first.
I dearly hope that new commissioning practices
as outlined in The Health and Social Care Bill will encourage GP commissioners
to reduce the time lag between first presentation of a patient with potential cancer
diagnosis at a GP practice to onward referral. Sadly I’m not convinced that this is the case. But
in the meantime, let us celebrate the good news that this survey provides and
give thanks that Jane’s confidence is well founded.
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1 comments:
Of course, cancer services in recent years have benefited from a National Cancer Plan, an effective cancer "tzar" and accompanying dedicated resource, so I'm fairly confident that the good results we are seeing now are not a coincidence.
But when one particular sector benefits, others lose out. While cancer services have been "flavour of the month" for some time, areas like CAMHS and children's services in general receive much less attention. Plus, across the service, we see much more in the way of rationing and non-availability of routine treatments.
Is the balance right?
You've also pointed to the real area of weakness - GP services. Once the flagship NHS service, standards are nowadays very patchy and referral rates to secondary care are very inconsistent.
Like you, I hope the new system architecture works but we are entering unchartered waters....
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