Scottish Cancer Patient Experience Survey 2015/16

Care from GP practice

During treatment a cancer patient will often continue to need the support and care of their local general practitioner and nurses. When treatment finishes and a cancer patient's care returns to being primarily delivered by their local general practice surgery, there are several significant factors, such as the availability of comprehensive records and sufficient support, which facilitate the shift in focus from treating the disease to overall health and wellbeing.

GPs and the wider multi-disciplinary teams need sufficient information about a cancer patient's condition and treatment, as well as their ongoing support needs, in order to deliver coordinated care that smoothly transitions from a secondary care setting back to primary and community care settings.

GP receiving information about hospital treatment

The large majority of patients (96%) reported that, as far as they knew, their GP was given enough information about their condition and treatment at hospital (Table 46).

Table 46: GP receiving information about hospital treatment

There was some variation in responses from different tumour groups. However, statistical tests concluded that these differences as a whole were not statistically significant.

Support from GP practice during cancer treatment

Patients were asked whether the GPs and nurses had done everything they could to support them while they were having cancer treatment. Seventy per cent of patients felt that GPs and practice nurses had 'definitely' done all they could. Most of the remainder felt that this had been the case 'to some extent' (22%) (Table 47).

Table 47: Support from GP practice during treatment

There was some variation in responses from different tumour groups. However, statistical tests concluded that these differences as a whole were not statistically significant.