The NHS has now launched the 2023 Cancer Patient Experience Survey (CPES), asking for feedback from cancer patients aged 16 years and over, to help improve local cancer services across south east London.
As an alliance, we want our patients to have the best experience possible and hearing about your experience is crucial in helping us deliver what you need. Those who were treated for cancer as an inpatient or day-case, and left hospital in April, May or June 2023, are now being invited to take part in the survey.
We will use results to understand what is working well and which areas need improvement. The results enable us to identify national and local priorities and work with patients and partners to deliver improvements.
Using patient feedback to improve support for Black men with prostate cancer
Earlier this year, SELCA and Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust (GSTT) were invited by NHS England to develop a short film to support the uptake of this year’s CPES survey and encourage patients who often don’t share their feedback to take part.
The short film demonstrates how SELCA and GSTT used the survey results and local patient forums to set up Brother to Brother, Man to Man – a dedicated support group for black men coping with the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer.
Jannike Nordlund, Patient Experience Lead at the South East London Cancer Alliance, said: "A lot of the prostate cancer patients we see are Black men but we weren't seeing them in the existing support groups.
“When we started asking why, the feedback we got from our black patients was about the importance of being able to talk to patients from similar communities going though similar experiences."
The short film, which includes interviews with members of the support group, is available to view on YouTube here.
How to complete the survey
The survey takes no more than 20 minutes to complete and can be done online, on paper, or over the phone. The survey is anonymous, and all personal data will be kept safe. The results of the survey will be available in summer 2024.
If you or someone you know needs support completing the survey or another language, you can call the free helpline number: 0800 103 2804.
For more information on the survey and how to access help and support in completing it, please visit www.ncpes.co.uk.