Macmillan Cancer Support is calling for urgent action to improve cancer care across London. This comes as the charity reveals that nine of London's hospital NHS Trusts scored in the bottom 10 of its annual patient experience league table of hospitals in England.
It is the third year running that London NHS trusts have filled the majority of places in the bottom 10 of Macmillan's league table. Many London trusts show little improvement in their ranking.
The league table follows NHS England's release of the National Cancer Patient Experience Survey last Friday (30 August). It 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.
Carol Fenton, Macmillan's general manager in London says: "It is unacceptable that some cancer patients in London are being let down by hospitals failing to provide crucial support, alongside medical treatment. There can be no excuses – especially post-Francis and the situation at the Mid Staffordshire Hospital NHS Trust.
"Improvements are very possible. Trusts across London, such as Imperial, are making enormous efforts to improve. They are working well with cancer patients and with Macmillan to address the problem. Improvements won't happen overnight – they take time and rely on continued top-level commitment.
"But we need one pan-London effort. There is no reason why the capital should not have the best cancer outcomes of any major city. Today it falls lamentably short."
In the past year Macmillan has been working closely with NHS trusts in London, the new Integrated Cancer Systems (London Cancer Alliance and London Cancer) and NHS England — London — to improve the experience of cancer patients. Examples of progress in London include:
• Training courses for thousands of NHS cancer staff in how to better support people with emotional, financial, social and physical needs, many of them funded and arranged by Macmillan.
• Efforts by a number of hospitals to improve the culture and behaviours of staff through the Macmillan Values Based Standard®, which promotes outcomes such as full patient involvement in decision-making about their care and sensitive treatment of patients · Cancer patients commenting in real time via touch screens and other means about their experience of care.
Macmillan has also launched a new report, Improving care for people with cancer which includes a number of recommendations for putting cancer patient experience at the heart of the new NHS.
Shelley Mason, 54, was diagnosed with a rare type of breast cancer last year and was treated in a London hospital trust. Shelley says: "Some of my experiences in hospital were traumatic. I remember a drain being pulled out of me like I was a piece of meat, and staff talking about me just behind my bed curtain. I also felt that some of my questions were dismissed in a patronising way, which really upset me.
"When I asked to be referred to a psychologist to help me cope with my rare cancer diagnosis, I was curtly dismissed with a 'why?' I was new to this world of breast cancer and needed someone to guide me, not dismiss my fears.
"But there were plenty of good experiences, too. It was reassuring to be able to see my doctor at every appointment and the oncology team was outstanding, making time to understand my needs and answer all of my questions. Their swift action has undoubtedly saved my life."
10 best performing trusts
• Gateshead Health NHS foundation trust
• East Cheshire NHS trust
• South Tyneside NHS foundation trust
• The Rotherham NHS foundation trust
• Liverpool Women's NHS foundation trust
• St Helens and Knowsley teaching hospitals NHS trust
• Bolton NHS foundation trust
• Papworth hopstial NHS foundation trust
• Northumbria healthcare NHS foundation trust
10 worst performing trusts
• Imperial College healthcare NHS trust
• Barts health NHS trust
• Croydon health services NHS trust
• Barking, Havering and Redbridge university hospital NHS trust
• King's College hospital NHS foundation trust
• St George's healthcare NHS trust
• Whittington health
• The North West London hospitals NHS trust
• The Dudley group NHS foundation trust
10 most improved trusts
• University hospital Southampton NHS trust
• Royal Cornwall hospitals NHS trust
• The Royal Wolverhampton NHS trust
• Nottingham University hospitals NHS trust
• Oxford University hospitals NHS trust
• Worcestershire acute hospitals NHS trust
• Royal Devon and Exeter NHS foundation trust
• East Kent hospitals university NHS foundation trust
• Derby hospitals NHS foundation trust
Patient experience by tumour type - best to worst
• Breast
• Prostate
• Skin
• Bowel/lower gastrointestinal
• Lung
• Head & neck
• Gynaecological
• Haematological
• Upper gastrointestinal
• Sarcoma
• Urological
• Brain/ central nervous system
• Other
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