PEOPLE living with an advanced cancer diagnosis across St Helens and Knowsley are being urged to take part in a trailblazing survey to help improve their quality of life – and also help improve services for the future.
Staff from Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust are working with Macmillan to develop an improved model of care for people living with metastatic cancer, often referred to as “advanced stage cancer’’ where the disease has spread to a different part of the body from where it first started.
Improving the quality of life for metastatic patients, and their carers, has been highlighted as a key area in Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan and the research taking place across St Helens and Knowsley is seen as vital to developing care for the future, locally, regionally and nationally.
Hayley McCaffrey, Macmillan Senior Project Manager, said: “We recently conducted a scoping exercise that highlighted how metastatic patients have different needs to primary cancer patients in respect to treatment, care and symptom management.
“Metastatic patients have several unmet care needs. They have a double burden in many ways due to symptoms associated with multiple tumours, while facing possible heightened emotions due to factors such as a shortened life expectancy, the impact on their independence and the psychological impact of uncertainty.
“In an effort to improve care we are asking for any patients or carers living with metastatic cancer to complete a patient experience questionnaire. We want everyone to have a voice, feel listened to and be empowered to make the changes needed to deliver care that is consistently high quality, well organised, meets best practice standards and provides the best possible experience for patients and their families.
“By completing the questionnaire, you will be the voice of those who are living with metastatic cancer, telling us what you need so we provide care that has the patient at the centre of everything we do.’’
Laura Swift, a Clinical Nurse Specialist working on the project, added: “We have developed this patient and carers survey and need as many of those living with metastatic cancer to let us know about their experiences so we can move forwards and make the changes they need to improve things for the future.’’
All responses and comments in the survey will be anonymous so no personal details will be included in feedback received, just the responses and any comments individuals would like to include.
To take part in the patient survey please, click here: https://forms.office.com/e/yAif1WMXfU
To complete the carers survery, please use the following link: https://forms.office.com/e/P5jAk7GAkY
To contact a member of the team directly for details please ring 01744 646785 or e-mail TBNCProject@sthk.nhs.uk.