THE standard of cancer care at Poole Hospital has again been rated among the best in the country in the latest National Cancer Patient Experience Survey.

The overall standard of care was rated excellent or very good by 92 per cent of patients in the 2014 survey, placing it in the top 20 per cent of trusts in the country, for the third consecutive year.

Patients ranked the hospital highly in a range of other key areas including getting understandable answers to important questions, taking part in cancer research, confidence and trust in ward nurses and control of pain.

The survey also identified areas where improvements might be made including explanations of treatment side effects, availability of written information and privacy when receiving treatment.

These findings will be carefully reviewed to ensure steps are taken to address any concerns.

Dr Tamas Hickish, pictured left, clinical director for cancer care at Poole Hospital said: “We are extremely pleased that our patients again rated the overall standard of care so highly in the latest national patient survey.

“The Dorset Cancer Centre at Poole Hospital provides care to people from across the county, and we aim to provide every one of those patients with the best possible experience as they go through their cancer journey.

“We are also committed to improving our service further, and will be looking closely at the areas where patients have rated us less highly to ensure we put in place any necessary improvements as soon as possible.”

The survey is conducted by Quality Health and more than 520 Poole Hospital patients responded. It was sent to all adult patients with a primary diagnosis of cancer who were admitted and discharged between September 1 and November 30 2013.

For the full results go to quality-health.co.uk