CANCER patients who have been treated at Basingstoke hospital have given plenty of positive feedback about the care they received there as part of a patient survey.

The National Cancer Patient Experience Survey saw Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, rated in the top 20 per cent of trust in England for providing care for cancer patients.

654 patients who have been treated at the trust took part in Quality Health’s annual survey and were asked to rate the care they received from diagnosis to treatment and recovery.

91 per cent of those patients, who were all seen at one of the trust’s hospitals between September and November last year, rated the overall care they received as either excellent or very good.

90 per cent of those patients also said they were given a complete explanation about what would be done prior to an operation, and 95 per cent agreed they were given enough privacy.

Hampshire Hospitals clinical director for cancer services Dr Lara Alloway said: “These are excellent results. 91 per cent of our patients feel their overall care is excellent or very good.

“It is really important to us to ensure that every patient receives excellent care at this worrying time.

“Every month the cancer services team see around 1,000 patients within two weeks of a patient seeing their GP with suspected cancer.

“It is a worrying time for patients and their families and rapid access to diagnosis is essential.

“We recognise there are still improvements that can be made and we always want to be better.

“Next year, we will continue to focus on the level of support patients and their families receive during their treatment, including improvements to written and electronic information.”