North East and North Cumbria NHS cancer care rated highly by patients

Patients receiving treatment for cancer in the North East and North Cumbria have rated their overall NHS care as nine out of 10, according to national figures published today.

The 2025 National Cancer Patient Experience Survey (NCPES) results for Northern Cancer Alliance (NCA) show that 91% of patients said the whole care team worked well together and 88% said the administration of care was good or very good.

NCA scored above the expected range for 19 of the 59 questions, and none below, with improvements on the 2024 results in a number of areas. 4,923 patients completed the survey in the North East and North Cumbria with a response rate of 48%, equal to the national response rate.

Overall, NCA’s results were in the top four of the 20 Cancer Alliances in England.

The annual NCPES is the most comprehensive survey of cancer patients’ experiences in England, with the latest results representing the views of more than 64,000 people across the country who had cancer-related treatment in April, May and June 2025.

NCA highlights include:

• 95% of patients said a member of their care team helped them create a care plan to address any needs or concerns (England score 94%).
• 92% of patients said they completely had enough understandable information about surgery (90%).
• 88% of patients said they completely had enough understandable information about chemotherapy (85%).
• 86% of patients said they felt the length of waiting time at clinic and day unit for cancer treatment was about right (England score 80%).
• 84% of patients said they were always able to discuss worries or fears with hospital staff while being treated as an outpatient or day case (England score 80%).
• 82% of patients said they were definitely involved as much as they wanted to be in decisions about their treatment (England score 80%).

Nicky Lambert, Clinical Lead for Nursing at NCA, said: “We’re delighted that once again patients receiving treatment for cancer in the North East and North Cumbria have rated their overall NHS care highly.

“This is testament to the dedication and professionalism of colleagues who work tirelessly to provide the best possible personalised care to patients throughout their cancer journey.

These headline figures give us much to be proud of, but we know every patient’s experience of cancer treatment is different. We will review the results carefully to identify variations in care and opportunities to further improve the quality of treatment and support we provide.

“As system leaders, we will work with NHS colleagues to better understand the data and take forward improvements where needed.”

NCPES is designed to:

• monitor progress on cancer care
• provide information to drive local quality improvements
• assist commissioners and providers of cancer care
• inform the work of the various charities and stakeholder groups supporting cancer patients.

 

See NCA’s full results.