Cancer care rated 9/10 by patients for fifth consecutive year
21 July 2026
Cancer patients have rated the level of care received at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (OUH) as nine out of 10 for the fifth year in a row.
The National Cancer Patient Experience Survey (NCPES) 2025, conducted every year by Picker on behalf of NHS England, aims to understand patients' experiences of cancer care, and the results are used to improve the quality of NHS cancer services.
More than 1,500 patients across different cancer types, such as breast, prostate and haematological, had their say and completed the questionnaire about their OUH cancer care.
OUH had 13 questions – up by three compared to the 2024 results – that scored 'above the expected range', including how patients:
Found advice and support from their main contact person and care team helpful,
Felt involved in decisions about their care and treatment,
Received clear, understandable information about treatment and recovery,
Were offered appropriate support, information and guidance throughout their cancer journey.
The Trust had no scores rated as 'below the expected range'. No scores were 'significantly higher' or 'significantly lower' compared to the 2024 scores.
Compared with 2021, three survey results were 'significantly higher', including patients' views on family and carer involvement in treatment decisions. Three areas scored 'significantly lower', including waiting times for diagnostic tests.
Patients gave a rating of nine out of 10 for overall experience of care, which OUH in each of the last five surveys and is about average when compared to the national results (8.9).
Alex Poole, Lead Cancer Nurse at OUH, said: "We would like to thank all the patients who took the time to complete this survey, and it is encouraging to see that they continue to report positive experiences of cancer care at OUH.
"These results reflect the compassion, professionalism and commitment shown by colleagues across our cancer services every day. We will use the feedback from patients to build on what is working well and identify where further improvements can be made."
PG Roy, Clinical Director for Cancer at OUH, said: "I am so pleased to see the results, which are a testimony to the excellent and compassionate care at OUH. We are committed to ensuring good experiences for patients and their carers at what are very difficult times in their lives."
Felicity Taylor-Drewe, Chief Operating Officer at OUH, said: "We welcome these results and are grateful to everyone who took the time to share their experiences.
"Patient feedback is an important part of how we evaluate our services and identify opportunities for improvement. While we are pleased with these results, we know we have more to do to improve access times and we remain committed to supporting early access for all our cancer patients. We will continue to listen to our patients and use their feedback to help shape and improve the care we provide."
Each tumour site receives its own set of patient comments and survey results, enabling teams to develop tailored local action plans that address specific areas for improvement. In some cases, teams also share their findings with patient support groups to gather further feedback. These local plans are used to shape a Trust-wide action plan, ensuring that improvements are informed by both patient and staff insight.
Following the 2024 results, recent improvements include the delivery of health and wellbeing events for patients and carers, the implementation of an enhanced method for identifying cancer pathway patients with additional learning needs, and updated tumour specific patient information resources.
