Patient satisfaction with telephone follow up after treatment
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Patient satisfaction with telephone follow up after treatment

Anne Boardman Medical student at the time of the audit, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Preston
Joanne Wilkinson Lead chemotherapy nurse, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Preston
Ruth Board Medical oncologist and lead for acute oncology, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Preston

Anne Boardman and colleagues ask whether proactive telephone calls from staff to patients treated for cancer improve the quality, safety and outcomes of their care

The National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death highlighted the need to improve patient outcomes and safety when undergoing chemotherapy. The audit discussed in this article assessed proactive telephone follow up by staff on a chemotherapy helpline after a patient’s first cycle of chemotherapy. A list of patients eligible for proactive follow up was compiled from a database of those undergoing treatment. A subset of eligible patients consented to participate in a telephone satisfaction survey and 150 were eligible for proactive follow up. Of 131 calls made, most (90%) were successful and 61% reported a number of problems (range=0-5), the most common being gastrointestinal side effects and fatigue. Active management was required in 18% of patients. Patients reported high levels of satisfaction with proactive follow up. Of those surveyed (n=49), all reported that the call was useful. The majority (98%) were satisfied with telephone calls as a means of follow up. Proactive telephone follow up is shown to be an effective and acceptable method that enhances quality of care.

Cancer Nursing Practice. 14, 9, 27-33. doi: 10.7748/cnp.14.9.27.s20

Correspondence

anne.boardman@doctors.org.uk

Peer review

This article has been subject to double-blind review and checked using antiplagiarism software

Conflict of interest

None declared

Received: 10 June 2015

Accepted: 18 September 2015

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