Help us improve our cancer services

Get involved

We want to understand the experience of patients who have recently attended cancer services at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, and those supporting them. The insights we learn will help us improve our services.

We have started a programme to review our cancer pathways, to make sure that they work for our patients and for our staff. Around 393,000 people are diagnosed with cancer in the UK each year. Across our hospitals we are involved in the care from diagnosis, through treatment and ongoing support for many patients each year.

We will listen to the views and experiences of patients, their families, our staff and other health and care partners, to explore better ways of working and potential areas for improvement.

Thank you for your interest in taking part.

Below is some information about the project and further support.

What is the purpose of this project?

The aim of this work is to understand the experience of patients and those supporting them who have recently experienced cancer services at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. The insights we learn will inform our future improvement work.

Our hospitals aspire to provide high quality cancer care for all patients. We know we can do more to support people, and we would like to understand what we can do differently to improve experiences for our patients, and those who are supporting them.

The information you share on your experience of cancer services will be kept anonymous. While we will be sharing a summary of what we learned in this project, nothing we share will have any identifiable information about you or the person you supported.

Who are we looking to speak with?

You can take part if:

You have been diagnosed with, or treated for, cancer at Hammersmith, Charing Cross or St Mary's hospitals within the last 12 months.

You have supported someone important to you who fulfils the above criteria. For example, you have attended appointments with them or helped them understand information.

We want to speak to people from a broad range of backgrounds, including underrepresented communities and neurodivergent people.

We recommend applying as soon as possible. This opportunity closes at 23.59 on Monday 22 July.

Who is leading this project?

Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust is working with the Helix Centre, part of Imperial College London’s Institute of Global Health Innovation, to undertake this project. We are working in lung cancer care initially, as part of a wider programme of work that the Trust is doing to review and improve cancer services.

The Helix Centre has been commissioned by the Trust to carry out this project.

Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust provides acute and specialist healthcare for over one million people every year across their hospitals in central and west London - Charing Cross, Hammersmith, Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea, St Mary’s and Western Eye hospitals. The Helix Centre is a research lab that is part of Imperial College London and located in St Mary’s Hospital.

The Helix Centre designs and evaluates products and services that tackle major health challenges by putting people and their needs at the centre of what they do.

What happens if you agree to take part?

You can get involved in this project either in an informal one-to-one conversation or by joining an in-person or online group workshop. Please let us know what will work best for you.
If you choose to take part in an informal conversation (it will last up to 60 minutes) and can be conducted online on a video call, over the phone, or in person. We can provide an interpreter if you require and would allow up to 90 minutes for the interview in this case. If you have a preference of speaking to a man or woman, we will aim to accommodate this. If you have other accessibility needs or preferences, please let us know and we will look to accommodate these.
If you choose to take part in an in-person or online workshop it will be 90 minutes long and will be held at Charing Cross Hospital or online on a video call.
During the conversation we will ask you questions about your experience of cancer care at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. We will also ask you about what good cancer care would look like to you, and how we could do things differently.
After the interviews and workshops, the project team will bring together the findings from the discussions and these will be used to help form recommendations for the Trust that will inform future improvements to cancer care. A summary of the results will be shared with you.
We work closely with public members with lived experience to influence our work, and often get their input on key project activities. We may involve a public member on the project team to analyse anonymised interview notes to compare with our interpretation of the findings. These interview transcripts will be anonymised, provided as physical copies, and destroyed after analysis.
With your permission, we may use anonymous quotes (so that you are not named and cannot be identified) in our report, future studies, and/or publications.

How will my privacy and confidentiality be preserved?

Under the law, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust is considered the data controller of any data relating to you that we process for this programme. The Trust is legally required to process your data in compliance with the requirements of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, in addition to its own internal policies.

We will only process your data with your consent. Your participation is entirely voluntary and you are free to withdraw your consent at any time, without giving any reason, and without any adverse consequences or penalty.

Subject to your consent, we will securely retain the data that we collect from you through the below questionnaire for a period of 7 months. After that, we will delete the data in a secure manner.

For more information about how the Trust processes your data and what rights you have, please refer to: https://www.imperial.nhs.uk/privacy. If you have questions about your data protection rights, you can contact the Trust Data Protection Officer at: imperial.dpo@nhs.net.

What are the benefits and possible consequences of participating in this project?

The benefit of participating in this project will be to help inform potential improvements to cancer care across Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, making a difference to the experience of many other patients and those important to them.
For taking part in a 60-minute informal conversation or a 90-minute workshop, you will receive a £25 One4all voucher, valid at a range of stores.
A possible consequence of participating in this project is that you may be asked to revisit some parts of your care that you would rather not talk about anymore. This may lead to you feeling uncomfortable, emotional and/or upset. To minimise this risk, we will make sure you are able to guide the conversation, and we will make sure we only discuss topics that you feel comfortable to explore. We suggest you have a break after the interview to get some fresh air, speak to a family member or friend or can have a debrief with a member of the team after. You may also choose to end the interview at any time.

Please note: This is an evaluation of current cancer services and the people conducting this evaluation are not medical professionals and are not able to answer any questions you might have. If you have any concerns about the medical care that you have experienced, you should contact the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) and complaints team at Imperial College Healthcare Trust. If you have already made a complaint, please be aware that the team in this session will not be able to address this complaint any further and will direct you to the complaints or PALS team.

Further sources of support and information

If you are looking for information or help from cancer support organisations, there are further resources listed below.

Macmillan cancer navigator service at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust (ICHT): This is a single point of contact for ICHT cancer patients and their families, helping you to navigate your care and resolve queries that you may have. Navigators can access information about your appointments, connect you to appropriate services and signpost you on to further support. They can additionally book you in for a telephone call back from your Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) if you have a query that requires clinical input.

The service is open Monday to Friday 8:30 to 16.30 (excluding bank holidays). Call: 020 3313 0303

Macmillan cancer information and support service at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust (ICHT): The Macmillan information and support service provides free, confidential support and information to anyone affected by cancer. The service offers the opportunity to talk to one of our team one-on-one about whatever matters most to you, as well as a range of weekly virtual groups that provide the opportunity to connect with other patients in a relaxed environment. The Macmillan welfare and benefits adviser can offer ICHT patients tailored advice on additional financial support. There are physical centres at Charing Cross and Hammersmith Hospitals ando ffer virtual and telephone support.

The service is open Monday-Thursday (excluding bank holidays), with various drop-ins available within our physical centres. For more information, please call 020 3313 5170 or email imperial.macmillansupportservice@nhs.net

Maggie’s west London: Maggie’s is a cancer charity that provides the emotional, practical and social support to people with cancer and their family and friends. The centre combines beautiful architecture, calming spaces, a professional team of support staff and the ability to talk and share experiences with a community of people who have been through similar experiences. Maggie’s centres are warm, friendly and informal places full of light and open space with a big kitchen table at the heart of the building. Maggie’s west London is located in the grounds of Charing Cross Hospital but is independent of our hospital.

The centre is open Monday to Friday, 09.00-17.00. For more information, please call 020 7386 1750.

Macmillan Support Line: The Macmillan Support Line offers confidential support to people living with cancer and their loved ones. This support line is a national line provided by Macmillan and is independent of our hospital

Call: 0808 808 000 (Every day, 08.00-20.00) or visit www.macmillan.org.uk

If you have been affected by this questionnaire, we have listed some organisations below that may be able to offer some support.
Samaritans: Free 24/7 phone line to talk through any issues you're facing. Call 116 123. www.samaritans.org

Shout: Free, confidential, 24/7 text support line in the UK, offering texters immediate support with issues such as suicidal thoughts, depression, anxiety, panic attacks. Text 85258. giveusashout.org

Nafsiyat - A charity offering intercultural therapy in over 20 languages to people from diverse cultural communities in London. www.nafsiyat.org.uk/

The Black, African and Asian Therapy Network: The UK’s largest independent organisation to specialise in working psychologically, informed by an understanding of intersectionality, with people who identify as Black, African, South Asian and Caribbean. www.baatn.org.uk/

Patient advice and liaison service (PALS): If you have any suggestions, comments or concerns about your care or that of the person you are supporting, please contact our PALS team for advice:

020 3312 7777 (10.00 – 16.00, Monday to Friday)

Through email at imperial.pals@nhs.net

The PALS team will listen to your concerns, suggestions or queries and is often able to help solve problems on your behalf.

Alternatively, you may wish to complain by contacting our complaints department:

Complaints department, fourth floor, Salton House, St Mary’s Hospital, Praed Street, London W2 1NY Email: ICHC-tr.Complaints@nhs.net Telephone: 020 3312 1337 / 1349.

Express your interest and consent to take part here:

* Required information

Would you be happy to take part in the project?* Yes No

To maintain your confidentiality, we will adhere to the Data Protection Act 2018 and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust data protection policies.

Do you consent to your details being stored safely by the project team for the duration of this project? Yes No What is your full name?* What is your email address?* What is your phone number? (optional) Do you prefer to be contacted by email or phone?* Email Phone No preference In the past 12 months, have you, or the person you supported, been diagnosed with or treated for cancer at an Imperial College Healthcare NHS hospital?* Yes I have been a patient Yes I have closely supported a patient No

Unfortunately we are not able to consider you for participation in this project, as we can only evaluate the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust cancer service.

Please note, that this does not include staff supporting a patient receiving care. If you work in cancer care and would like to find out more about the project, please contact imperial.userinsights@nhs.net.

If you are closely supporting a patient, in order to share some information about their cancer experience, we request that you have received their permission to do so.

Please note, that this does not include staff supporting a patient receiving care. If you work in cancer care and would like to find out more about the project, please see information on the intranet.

Cancer services are provided by Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust at Charing Cross, Hammersmith and St Mary's hospitals.

Which hospital location(s) were you, or the person you supported, diagnosed or treated?* (select all that apply) Charing Cross Hospital Hammersmith Hospital St Marys Hospital Somewhere else Please tell us where in your body the primary site of your cancer is? (where your cancer started from or is mainly located) Can you tell us briefly about your cancer journey so far? For example, when were you, or the person you cared for, diagnosed and what’s happening now (max 100 words). Why do you want to be involved in this project? (max 100 words)* How would you like to be involved in this project? Group session at Maggie‘s West London on 17 July from 9.30am to 11am Chat over the phone or video call Chat in person How old are you? (You must be over 18 to apply) 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75-84 85+ Do you identify as: A woman A man Non-binary Trans man Trans women Other Prefer not to say

We are asking this to ensure that we are including a wide range of people throughout the project.

How would you describe your ethnicity?

We are asking this to ensure that we are including a wide range of people throughout the project.

If you would rather describe your ethnicity in different terms, please describe it below. What is your postcode?

We are asking this because we know people living in different areas have varying experiences of healthcare services. If you would not like to share this, please leave it blank.

Do you have any accessibility needs, neurodiversity, disability, or long-term health conditions?

We are asking this to ensure that we are including a wide range of people throughout the project and to ensure that we make this process accessible and inclusive for you.

How did you find out about this research opportunity?

Last updated 29 May 2024