Cancer patients in West Norfolk should be able to choose whether to have their appointments in person or virtually.
That is one of the recommendations of a study commissioned by the local NHS and carried out by patient’s organisation Healthwatch.
The study, which gauged how cancer consultations were conducted during part of the Covid-19 pandemic peak, showed people wanted to choose whether it was carried out in person, by video or telephone.
When an in-person consultation was not possible, Healthwatch recommended they should be held on video, so they are as interactive as possible.
The findings came following a study carried out by Healthwatch Norfolk and Healthwatch Suffolk to determine whether cancer patients got the help and support they needed between March and June this year.
It was commissioned by the Norfolk and Waveney NHS team who work on cancer services who wanted to find out what patients thought about their care and where improvements could be made.
You can see the key findings by clicking here
Overall, the study found patient choice was most important. Alex Stewart, chief executive of Healthwatch Norfolk, said:
It is clear from the responses that some patients are unlikely to ever feel the virtual option is right for their cancer appointments, while others are happy with it providing it is a straightforward consultation. Patient choice remains essential to make sure everyone can access their appointments effectively and they are satisfied with them.
It is also important that any necessary adaptations are made for patients to get the most benefit from an appointment whichever format it is in.
We are also going to ask health bosses to look at creating a letter to go out to patients to help them prepare for an appointment with useful tips including writing a list of questions beforehand or recording it. This will help them ensure they do not miss out anything they need to know and help ease their anxiety and worries.
Maggie Tween, NHS Norfolk and Waveney CCG Cancer Programme Manager, said:
This recent survey highlights some positive feedback from our local patients. We have been able to offer virtual and face to face appointments to all our cancer patients with what they need at the centre of their ongoing appointments. Colleagues at Healthwatch were able to collect valuable feedback and recommendations which will be our main focus over the coming months.
We know we have work to do but we are proud of the work we have achieved. We will continue to work closely with our partners and providers as well as patient groups to ensure that we can do the best for our local community.