Barts Health ranked as second worst by cancer charity

Barts Health NHS Trust is the second worst performing Trust for cancer patients’ experience, according to figures just released.

Macmillan Cancer Support wants urgent action to improve cancer care across London as figures show that nine of London’s hospital NHS Trusts scored in the bottom 10 of its annual patient experience league table of hospitals in England.

Barts Health NHS Trust, which recently placed itself in ‘financial turnaround’ after failing to reach its own financial targets, was ranked second in the list of ten worst performing Trusts behind Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.

Macmillan Cancer Support has said it is continuing to work in partnership with Barts to help improve its patient experience. The charity has also launched a new report which includes a number of recommendations fro putting the cancer patient experience at the heart of the new NHS.

A spokesman for Barts Health NHS Trust said: “We are very disappointed by the results of this survey. We strive to provide the best quality care for all our patients all of the time and while we have made progress in some areas, it is clear that there is more that can, and must, be done to improve our cancer patients’ experience.

“To do this, we have established a Cancer Patient Experience Steering Group to look at every aspect of cancer patient care and treatment at Barts Health. Other practical measures already underway include enhanced staff training to ensure clearer communication at all times with our patients; a Trust-wide programme to standardise clinical care across all cancer specialities; and better and more widely-available written and verbal information for patients, including a new and comprehensive information guide that each cancer patient receives on starting their course of treatment.”