Scottish Cancer Patient Experience Survey 2024: national report

Hospital Care

All respondents would have experienced care in hospital as part of their cancer pathway. Receiving good quality care whilst in hospital can help cancer patients to feel that they are viewed as more than their cancer diagnosis. The survey asked people about the last time they received any hospital treatment for their cancer, either as an inpatient or an outpatient / day case.

Person-centred care

Figure 1 below shows how people agreed with person-centred care statements regarding the healthcare professionals they came into contact with.

While the large majority of people were positive about the healthcare professionals they came into contact with during hospital care, 7% thought that they talked as if they were not there.

Privacy and provision of contacts

• 91% of people were always given enough privacy when discussing their condition or treatment, the same as in 2018.
• 91% of people were told by the healthcare professional who to contact if worried about their condition or treatment and were able to reach them.

Clinical Nurse Specialist or named contact

A Clinical Nurse Specialist is a specialist cancer nurse who delivers services and supports people and families who require specialist care across hospital and community settings.

• 83% of people were given the name of a Clinical Nurse Specialist and 10% another named contact.
• 7% of people were not given the name of a Clinical Nurse Specialist nor another named contact who would support them through their treatment.

88% of people found it easy to contact their Clinical Nurse Specialist or named contact, however, 6% found quite difficult to contact such professionals.

What people had to say about hospital care:

“Every aspect of care at [hospital name] was fabulous. Every member of the team provided person centred care and remembered my name as soon as I arrived.”

“…Communication was excellent, and I never felt that I had no one to contact if there was a problem. I was treated with care and respect, nothing was ever a problem…”

“I would have liked one point of contact such as a [cancer type] nurse throughout my whole treatment. I found as soon as one part of treatment finished such as chemo that was it…”

“…When things went wrong, no one listened to me…”