Basingstoke and North Hampshire NHS Foundation Trust joins forces with Breakthrough Breast Cancer to pledge high quality care for breast cancer patients

Maria Miller MP will launch the Breakthrough Service Pledge for Breast Cancer on Thursday 5th November 2009 at Basingstoke and North Hampshire NHS Foundation Trust, as part of a joint project with pioneering charity Breakthrough Breast Cancer.

Breakthrough Breast Cancer’s Service Pledge for Breast Cancer was developed by the charity as a tool for healthcare professionals and their patients to work together to improve breast cancer services.

Breast cancer patients at Basingstoke and North Hampshire NHS Foundation Trust were asked about the services they received and about any improvements they would like to see. The Service Pledge outlines suggestions made by patients which the hospital is now working towards. They include:

• Improving the information available to patients, including using a receptionist at each clinic, offering a copy of their GP’s letter and using a photo board display of members of staff
• Improving the patient waiting area, increasing the areas to display information
• To make follow-up appointment when given surgery date.
• To develop a ‘tick-list’ discharge process and provide a copy to all patients
• Ensure there is single sex accommodation for patients and clearly signposted male and female toilets.

Every person diagnosed with breast cancer at Basingstoke and North Hampshire NHS Foundation Trust will be given a copy of the Service Pledge, letting them know the services they can expect to receive, how the unit intends to improve its service and how patients can let staff know if they think something can be done better.

Breast Care Nurse Anne Brember, who is leading the Service Pledge project at Basingstoke and North Hampshire NHS Foundation Trust says: “We were delighted to get so much positive feedback from our patients and it is encouraging that so many said they felt supported and well informed by staff at Basingstoke and North Hampshire NHS Foundation Trust. But working with our patients on the Service Pledge has also shown us where we can improve the quality of our service and we look forward to implementing many of the changes patients have suggested.”

Launching the Breakthrough Service Pledge for Basingstoke and North Hampshire NHS Foundation Trust, Local MP Maria Miller said “Participating in Breakthrough’s Service Pledge for Breast Cancer is an important step towards providing the best possible breast cancer services which I support completely. Patients at Basingstoke and North Hampshire NHS Foundation Trust will be able to work in conjunction with the health professionals who treat them and have their views listened to more effectively. This will ensure local women have a real voice and that hospitals are working towards high standards of care.”

Maggie Alexander, Director of Policy Education and Influencing at Breakthrough Breast Cancer, said: “We are delighted that Basingstoke and North Hampshire NHS Foundation Trust has signed up to Breakthrough’s Service Pledge for Breast Cancer. Straightforward suggestions from patients can make a big difference to services and do not have to be expensive to have a real impact on their experience.

“It is vital that the nearly 46,000 women diagnosed with breast cancer each year in the UK receive a quick diagnosis and the highest quality treatment, care and information. Services may differ across the country but the pursuit of high standards should be universal. We believe that using Breakthrough’s Service Pledge for Breast Cancer, and really listening to the views of patients can play its part in achieving this goal.”

About Breakthrough Breast Cancer:

• Breakthrough Breast Cancer is a pioneering charity dedicated to the prevention, treatment and ultimate eradication of breast cancer.  We fight on three fronts: research, campaigning and education. 
• We fund ground-breaking research, campaign for better services and treatments and raise awareness of breast cancer.  Through this work the charity believes passionately that breast cancer can be beaten and the fear of the disease removed for good. Find more information at breakthrough.org.uk

About breast cancer:

• Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the UK – nearly 46,000 women and around 300 men are diagnosed every year.
• Breast cancer accounts for nearly 1 in 3 of all female cancers and one in nine women in the UK will develop breast cancer at some point in their lifetime.
• More than 1,000 women die of breast cancer every month in the UK.
• The good news is that more women than ever in the UK are surviving breast cancer thanks to better awareness, better treatments and better screening.

Find more information visit our website or call free on 08080 100 200.