Over the last six months the world has changed beyond recognition as people and organisations have adapted to lockdowns, social distancing and working remotely. The NHS has been remarkably adept at responding to the pandemic by changing many ways of working overnight and many of these initiatives have come out of local staff and clinical leaders.
With overlapping symptoms making lung cancer particularly complicated, clinical teams have worked especially hard to adapt existing practice and procedures to maintain a safe diagnostic and treatment service and support their patients during these very, difficult times. And - with increasing pressure, we think it is essential we take time to capture this experience and map where in the pathway these virtual consultations have had the biggest advantages or disadvantages. We must also consider the new skills and effort you have needed to develop to make the system work.
LCNUK is working with UKLCC and BTOG to conduct a survey (collaborating with, and funded by MSD) to gather information on how health professionals are using virtual consultations and what nurses and primary and secondary care clinicians think about them. We are also very interested in assessing the strengths and weakness of virtual MDTs.
In parallel, the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation is running a patient survey on virtual consultations. Our intention is to publish the findings of both surveys in one single report later this year - with recommendations and strategies to help shape national guidance and develop support tools for health professionals and their patients going forward.
Please share your experience with us by completing this survey [link]. It is really important to map experience at all stages of the patient journey so please share with your MDT and primary care colleagues and encourage them to share their experience and skill as well.
The survey deadline is w/c 19th October.