Humber Acute Services Programme - Reviewing the temporary changes made to Oncology Services

We Asked

In late 2020, questionnaires were posted to 1,713 patients who had been identified as being impacted by the temporary changes made to Oncology services in January 2020.

1,649 lived within the Humber area and 64 patients were from Bridlington and Scarborough. 

Participants were encouraged to share their experiences so we could understand if the temporary changes had a positive or negative impact on their patient journey, quality of care and outcomes.

341 patients completed the questionnaire. 

At the same time, we also engaged with Oncology staff including, Consultants, Registrars, Cancer Nurse Specialists, and Advanced Nurse Practitioners via an online survey.

38 responses were received. 

Both feedback reports can be found at the bottom of this page. 

You Said

You generally had a good experience...
The majority of respondents were generally satisfied with their experience of the current oncology service, saying staff are polite and friendly, they feel well looked after and they have complete faith in the team. There was a real feeling throughout the feedback provided that respondents felt the staff were doing their best during the difficult situation imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic which they were thankful of the staff for.

You want local services returned so you can receive care closer to home...
From the feedback received there is a strong desire for oncology services to be returned to Scunthorpe General Hospital, Scarborough Hospital and Bridlington Hospital. Respondents are keen to receive their cancer care closer to home to avoid long journeys which have been described as painful, difficult and stressful. They wish to avoid further inconvenience family members who have to take more time off work to drive respondents to their appointments.

The changes have impacted you financially...
Respondents also said that they are worried about the financial impacts associated with the changes in location, including additional fuel costs, taxi costs now they are unable to use public transport, parking costs, bridge tolls and family members now needing to take a full day off work to take them to their appointments.

Generally, waiting times did not increase as a result of the temporary changes...
As a result of the changes, 62.5% of respondents did not experience any delays with their first appointments. The majority of respondents told us that they waited between 2-4 weeks for their treatment to begin after their first appointment. 

You do not want technology to replace face-to-face appointments...
Although no specific Covid-19 questions were asked in the questionnaire, the additional impacts attributed to the pandemic were a prominent theme throughout. There was some acceptance that due to Covid-19 and social distancing restrictions the way in which they receive their care temporarily changed with more emphasis on non-face-to-face methods of care. However, it is clear from the feedback that this is not respondent’s preference moving forward and, in the future, they want to see appointments conducted face-to-face rather than virtually. 

We Did

Next, we will:
The feedback captured during this engagement exercise will be considered alongside the feedback captured from our engagement with Oncology staff and used to inform the longer-term plans for Oncology services in the Humber, including whether these temporary changes are to be made permanent. 

To read the patient and staff feedback reports, please click the document links below.