Recently the Thames Valley Cancer Alliance has been conducting cancer patient engagement events around the region. Here is the summary of our event held in December 2017…

Summary Report Patient Engagement Event, Milton Keynes University Hospital

The Thames Valley Cancer Alliance (TVCA) has funded a series of engagement events taking place across Thames Valley.  The purpose of these events has been two-fold: to discuss the latest cancer patient experience survey results to consider how improvements can be made to cancer services, and secondly to introduce individuals to the Thames Valley Cancer Alliance which was established in February 2017.

The National Cancer Patient Experience Survey (CPES) is a questionnaire distributed to patients who have received cancer treatments including surgical, medical and clinical treatments.  The survey aims to provide an insight into the care experienced by cancer patients across England and allows Trusts and Clinical Commissioning Groups to understand their individual performance and identify areas for local improvement. A full summary of results is publicly available online via http://www.ncpes.co.uk/index.php/reports/2016-reports/national-reports-1 where results for individual hospitals and clinical commissioning groups can also be accessed.

The event in MK: Michael Mawhinney opened the event with introductions to what the TVCA is and to provide an overview of the CPES and results for Milton Keynes University Hospital (MKUH).  Across 3 tables, 3 questions were asked of attendee’s.  A summary of the response to each question will be found in this report.  During discussions, Lead Cancer Nurse Sally Burnie provided an update for attendee’s about the current status of the new cancer centre build and plans for radiotherapy services.  Suzan St Maur then provided an overview of the role of the Milton Keynes Cancer Patient Partnership (MKCPP) and facilitated a discussion with the audience regarding some of the current challenges faced within the cancer care arena, including the roles of Macmillan, the TVCA and MKUH. [Read more…]