Somerset, Wiltshire, Avon and Gloucestershire Cancer Alliance NSS evaluation

Following your recent referral into the Non Specific Symptoms service we would appreciate it if you could spare some time to complete this patient experience survey.

Why are we doing this survey?

Completing this survey will help us to learn more about how we can continue to improve the care we provide to patients. Please note that any information and feedback you give us will be treated completely anonymously.

Who should complete the survey? 

The questions should be answered by the person who has used the Non-Specific Symptoms services.  If that person needs help to complete the questionnaire, the answers should be given from their point of view – not the point of view of the person who is helping.

How to complete the survey? 

Most questions require you to read a statement and indicate your level of agreement with the statement from the options below: 

• Strongly agree
• Agree
• Neither agree nor disagree
• Disagree
• Strongly disagree

For some questions the options given may not include your desired response, in which case you can tick “other” and specify your answer by writing in the box provided.  All of the questions have an option of "prefer not to say" if you would rather not indicate your response. 

This survey has two parts:

1. We would like to obtain information about your experience of the Non-Specific Symptoms (NSS) cancer pathways.  

Non-Specific Symptoms (NSS) pathways are intended to cover the cohort of patients who do not fit clearly into a single “urgent cancer” referrals pathway, as defined by NICE Guidance 12, but who are, nonetheless, at risk of being diagnosed with cancer. Symptoms considered non-specific include unexplained weight loss, fatigue, abdominal pain, or nausea; and/or a GP gut feeling about cancer.  Historically, this cohort of patients often:

• saw their GP multiple times before referrals,
• presented more often in an emergency setting,
• presented with late-stage cancer, and
• were referred on multiple urgent pathways with resulting inefficiencies in healthcare provision. 

NSS services are part of a broader strategy set out in the NHS Long Term Plan to deliver faster diagnosis of cancer and other conditions.

2. We would like to understand what diagnostic pathways you would use if non-Specific Symptoms (NSS) pathways were not available.

This will enable us to develop a counterfactual.  A ‘counterfactual’ measures what would have happened to patients in the absence of a certain intervention (in this case, the Non-Specific Symptoms pathways), and the impact is estimated by comparing possible alternative (i.e. counterfactual) outcomes to those observed under the intervention.

The survey should not take more than 10 minutes to complete. We appreciate you taking the time to provide your feedback. 

Thank you