National Surveys of NHS Patients: Cancer, 1999-2000

<p>Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.</p>The National Surveys of NHS Patients programme comprises a series of surveys designed to contribute to monitoring the performance of the NHS as seen from the patient's perspective. The Government committed itself to this programme in 1997, in <i>The New NHS - modern dependable</i> White Paper, which proposed the introduction of annual surveys of patients and users to allow systematic comparisons of experiences over time and between different parts of the country. The first survey, covering general practice patients, was carried out in 1998. The second survey, covering Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) patients, took place in 1999. The third survey, covering Cancer patients, took place in 2000. The fourth survey, covering General Practice, took place in 2002. Further information about the series may be found on the Department of Health <a href="http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/PublishedSurvey/NationalsurveyofNHSpatients/index.htm" title ="National Surveys of NHS Patients">National Surveys of NHS Patients</a> web page.<br> <br>This is the third in a series of National Surveys of NHS Patients, designed to monitor the performance of the NHS from the patient's perspective. This survey assesses the quality of care experienced by patients with one of six types of cancer - breast, colorectal, lung, ovarian, prostate and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The overall aim was to provide data which could be used to inform performance management by highlighting areas in need of improvement. The survey was designed to give reliable results at Trust as well as national level, to inform individual Trusts about their performance, to enable comparisons between Trusts as well as providing a national overview. The reference period was the five years before July 2000 and the survey thus reflects experiences of treatment in the period before the publication of the National Cancer Plan in September of that year.<B>Main Topics</B>:<br> The dataset addresses a number of themes covering different stages of the patient's 'cancer journey' from diagnosis to outpatient treatment. The main issues covered are as follows: <br> The hospital visit which led to the patient being selected for the survey; including staffing levels, cleanliness and quality of food. <br> The patient's first treatment for this condition (providing that was within the past five years); covering themes such as communication and understanding, involvement, being treated with respect and dignity, co-ordination and continuity, and pain and discomfort.<br> Discharge procedures (after the first treatment) - the extent to which patients felt that they were offered the appropriate advice and support on leaving hospital.<br> The initial diagnosis and referral to hospital, including the time this took and the way in which the diagnosis was given.<br> The most recent outpatient visit.<br> Demographic and other personal data.<br> The dataset also includes information provided by the participating Trusts (eg date of discharge, diagnosis)