YEOVIL NEWS: Hospital in Top Ten for cancer care

YEOVIL NEWS: Hospital in Top Ten for cancer care

YEOVIL District Hospital has been ranked in the Top Ten of Macmillan’s national league table of hospital trusts for caring for patients with cancer.

The National Cancer Survey is coordinated by Quality Health on behalf of the Department of Health to monitor patient experience of their cancer care.

The hospital’s chief executive, Paul Mears, said: “This is great news for our patients. I am very proud of the staff across the hospital who work so hard to provide cancer patients not only with good care but the support that patients need at a very stressful time in their lives.YEOVIL NEWS: Hospital in Top Ten for cancer care

“Ensuring patients have a positive experience, including being cared for with dignity and respect and being given the opportunity to discuss treatment choices, is as vital as treatment to a cancer patient’s quality of life and is linked to improved outcomes.

“This result is a celebration of the excellent care we provide to our patients but we are committed to making further improvements in caring for patients with cancer.”

PHOTO - RIGHT: Yeovil District Hospital's chief executive Paul Mears.

The national league table compares the performance of hospitals across the country against measures of patients’ experience whilst being treated in 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.

Trusts were ranked according to the number of times they appeared in the highest 20% on the 61 scored questions, with the top ten being among the ten most often in the ‘green’ top 20%.

Lead nurse for cancer, Belinda Ockrim, said: “We are so pleased with our survey results and would like to thank our patients who took the time to complete the survey.YEOVIL NEWS: Hospital in Top Ten for cancer care

"A full analysis of the survey will be completed to see where we can continue to make further improvements to the way in which our cancer patients are treated and what support they receive from us.”

Some areas where the Trust scored particularly highly were patients not feeling as they were being treated as a set of cancer symptoms, patients rating their care as excellent, being involved in decisions about care and treatment and being given information about their cancer and support available for them.

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