Cancer Patients Report High Quality Care

Nova Scotia cancer patients rate their overall quality of care higher than patients in other Canadian provinces, according to survey results released today, June 17, by Cancer Care Nova Scotia.

Findings show that 96.9 per cent of Nova Scotia cancer patients consider their overall quality of care to be excellent, very good or good. This compares with the Canadian average of 96.7 per cent.

The survey also shows that 79 per cent of respondents from the Cape Breton Cancer Centre in Sydney reported their overall care as excellent while 61 per cent of patients from the Nova Scotia Cancer Centre in Halifax rated their care as excellent. These percentages far exceed the Canadian average of 50 per cent.

More than 89 per cent of Nova Scotia respondents were likely to recommend their health providers to others, compared with the Canadian average of 86 per cent.

"These survey results are a testament to our dedicated team of health professionals both in Sydney and in Halifax," said Dr. Andrew Padmos, commissioner, Cancer Care Nova Scotia. "We're pleased that our patient satisfaction scores were the highest among the provinces surveyed, and we salute the Cape Breton Cancer Centre for being ranked first in the country.

"Still, we always know there is more to be done," said Dr. Padmos. "We're in the business of providing cancer patients with high quality, evidence-based treatment and care and surveys such as these are helpful in identifying where we are doing well and where we can improve."

Nova Scotia patients rated their experience higher than the Canadian average in each of the categories, including:

• access to care
• information
• communication and education
• respect for patient preferences
• emotional support
• physical comfort and
• co-ordination and continuity of care.

"The fact that Cape Breton patients reported the highest degree of satisfaction in every category, over all 29 facilities that were surveyed, is particularly fantastic," said Dr. Padmos.

Areas identified for improvement in Nova Scotia included: emotional support; co-ordination of care; and information, communication and education.

Cancer Care Nova Scotia, in partnership with the Cape Breton District Health Authority and Capital Health, contracted NRC Picker to conduct the cancer patient satisfaction survey. The survey was conducted during the fall of 2004.

All patients, 18 years and older, who had received outpatient treatment at either the Cape Breton Cancer Centre or the Nova Scotia Cancer Centre were given an opportunity to participate. Two hundred and fifty-seven Nova Scotians completed the survey. Twenty-nine facilities in four other provinces used the same tool to measure patient satisfaction.

Cancer Care Nova Scotia is a program of the Department of Health, created to reduce the burden of cancer on individuals, families and the health-care system through prevention, screening, education and research.