Almost half of lung cancer patients have experienced delays at some stage of their care signalling a ‘worrying' void between patient expectation and experience, experts have said.
Nearly half (46%) of lung cancer patients report experiencing delays at some stage of their care - and only two thirds (64%) say they receive prompt referral to hospital according to the UK Lung Cancer Coalition.
The report's authors said they have uncovered ‘worrying' discrepancies between what really matters to people living with lung cancer, current national targets, and the actual and care and treatment patients reported to receive.
"Despite 95% of respondents citing ‘prompt referral to hospital' as a priority - our survey revealed that there are still too many patients facing unacceptable care delays. This is putting lives at risk," said Richard Steyn, consultant thoracic surgeon, and chair of the UKLCC.
In addition to care delays, the report also uncovered the "general lack of support and information'" received by patients and carers' reported by survey respondents - as well as ‘mixed levels' of public and professional awareness about the disease.
Steyn said: "Only one in five (22%) of those patients surveyed reported to receive continuous support from a clinical nurse specialist; more than half were not provided with accurate information about their diagnosis (57.1%); and four out of ten respondents described their GPs' understanding of lung cancer as ‘variable', ‘not enough' or ‘not at all'.
"Despite, major improvements in lung cancer services in recent years, and many patients reporting a positive experience of care, these results are sobering," Steyn added.
As a result, the UKLCC has set out a series of practical recommendations for national and local health and social care organisations to help promote and embed a more ‘patient-centred approach' to lung cancer care.
These include ensuring that all lung cancer patients receive a personalised care plan and that care providers produce action plans setting out steps to improve experiences reported by patients.
Lung cancer continues to be the UK's biggest cancer killer. There are almost 35,000 deaths every year, which amounts to a greater death toll than breast cancer, prostate cancer, bladder cancer and leukaemia combined.
