Prostate news article - March 2005
| THE NATIONAL
AUDIT OFFICE REPORT ON CANCER SERVICES IN ENGLAND DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH INITIATIVE: "TACKLING CANCER: IMPROVING THE PATIENT JOURNEY" Disturbing reading for men afflicted with prostate cancer and their families Editorial by John Anderson, CEO, Prostate Research Campaign UK |
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The National Audit Office (NAO) Report on cancer services in England was issued on 25 February 2005 and, while it found that services had 'broadly improved', it was equally clear that more action is needed in some areas, particularly Prostate Cancer.
The NAO survey involved over 4,000 patients with breast, lung, bowel and prostate cancer in England and noted that, since the introduction of the NHS Cancer Plan in 2000, progress had been made in most areas of patient care, although a minority of patients reported complaints.
The report found that:
- Two thirds of patients described the care received from their GP as "very good".
- Patients reported an improvement in the waiting time to see a specialist - 58% were seen within two weeks of being referred by their GP, compared to 46% in 2000.
- Patients reported improved communication regarding condition, treatment and tests.
- A fifth of patients did not fully understand most of the information.
- Most patients said that they were not told how to make a complaint and had difficulty in getting a satisfactory result if and when they did.
- The majority of patients gave positive responses on treatment by hospital doctors and nurses and felt that they had done all they could to help ease pain, but some complained that they had to tell staff about their pain, rather than have their pain assessed by staff.
- A fifth of those in hospital and a quarter of those outside hospital felt they did not receive enough help in dealing with distress and anxiety.
However it was noticeable that prostate cancer sufferers were significantly less positive about the service they received than other patients, and this is illustrated in the chart below. While we accept that there has been some progress in tackling prostate cancer, we believe that men are still getting a raw deal and that the Government must prioritise the tackling of this major killer to ensure that these shameful results are not repeated. Indeed, the NAO Report specifically recommends that particular attention be given towards implementation of prostate cancer guidance, especially the provision of access to a urological cancer nurse specialist for all prostate cancer patients.
Sir John Bourn, Head of the NAO, noted: "There is no room for complacency - even if only 10 per cent of patients with major cancers were dissatisfied with some aspect of their care, that amounts to over 10,000 people a year. We look to the NHS to continue its drive for improvement in patient care, particularly with respect to patients in London and those with prostate cancer". We whole-heartedly endorse this call for positive action.
Prostate cancer patients gave a less positive response than patients with other cancers for 54 out of 80 questions, and gave the most positive response in only 8 questions.
| Prostate cancer patients report a worse experience than patients with other cancers | ||
| Question | Patients with prostate cancer (%) | Patients with other cancers (%) |
Waited more than two weeks from referral by GP to be seen by specialist |
68 | 37 |
Not discussed the side effects of treatment |
11 | 6 |
Not discussed how treatment had gone |
13 | 5 |
Would have preferred more information about how treatment had gone |
20 | 13 |
Fully understood explanation of how treatment had gone |
70 | 81 |
Have a named nurse in charge of care |
50 | 61 |
Home situation not taken into account when discharged from hospital |
13 | 9 |
Given information about support or self-help groups |
34 | 64 |
Outpatient appointment cancelled one or more times |
19 | 11 |
Patients' experiences of cancer services in England in 2004 have broadly improved on the situation in 2000. But, improvements in prostate cancer have been slower than for other cancers.
| Prostate cancer patients' experience is improving more slowly than patients with other cancers | ||
| Question | Changes in prostate cancer (%) | Change in other cancers (%) |
Waited more than two weeks from referral by GP to be seen by specialist |
-4 | -12 |
Not discussed the side effects of treatment |
-8 | -9 |
Not discussed how treatment had gone |
-1 | -3 |
Would have preferred more information about how treatment had gone |
-1 | -5 |
Fully understood explanation of how treatment had gone |
+3 | +5 |
Have a named nurse in charge of care |
+7 | +5 |
Home situation not taken into account when discharged from hospital |
-8 | -5 |
Given information about support or self-help groups |
-2 | -2 |
Outpatient appointment cancelled one or more times |
+2 | +2 |