Third of cancer patients don’t trust their nurses

ALMOST a third of cancer patients do not completely trust the nurses treating them and many believe wards are understaffed, a report has revealed.

The survey of almost 70,000 men and women treated in NHS hospitals also found that almost a quarter made multiple visits to their GP before being referred for tests for diagnosis.

One in ten had to endure at least five GP visits before they were referred to hospital.

Some patients said their eventual results were not delivered with sensitivity, while others said that they did not understand fully when told what was wrong with them.

The NHS England survey of cancer patients adds to mounting concerns about the standards of nursing of the frail and vulnerable.

Last month, a report into the controversial Liverpool Care Pathway, which allows doctors to stop treating those deemed to be close to death, said many nurses were ‘callous and brutal’ in their treatment of dying patients.

Also in July, an investigation into needless deaths at 11 failing hospital trusts found that nurses did not have time for basic acts of compassion such as holding the hand of a dying patient.

And an independent inquiry into the Mid-Staffordshire NHS Trust, where up to 1,200 patients are feared to have died unnecessarily in one of the worst hospital scandals in living memory found that patients were left ‘sobbing and humiliated’ by uncaring staff.

The latest survey looked at the views of cancer patients treated as in or day-patients between September and November 2012.

The 63 questions asked covered everything from how quickly they were seen to how well they believed they were treated. Overall, only 69

‘There is more work to do’

per cent said they trusted all the ward nurses treating them.

Thirty per cent only had confidence in some of the nurses and the remaining 1 per cent did not trust any of them. But there were wide variations across the country, with as few as 36 per cent of patients in some places saying they trusted all the ward nurses.

The annual survey also flagged up concerns about staffing. On average, almost 40 per cent of cancer patients felt there were not always enough nurses on duty. But in some areas the figure topped 60 per cent.

Seventeen per cent of patients saw their family doctor three or four times before being referred for hospital tests, while 9 per cent had at least five GP appointments.

Jagtar Dhanda, from the charity Macmillan Cancer Support, questioned whether nurses and other hospital staff have received enough training on compassionate care. ‘In very busy wards, the emphasis on functional parts of care, such as taking blood pressure, is often prioritised over things like good communication skills,’ he said.

However, specialist cancer nurses were singled out for praise in the survey, with patients saying they listened carefully to their concerns and responded to them fully.

NHS England said 88 per cent of patients had rated their overall care as ‘excellent’ or ‘very good’ and there have been improvements in many areas since the previous year.

But it acknowledged that overall scores have deteriorated in 31 of the 155 hospital trusts and that ‘there is more work to do’.