A quality checklist: Your standards of care

Men face a postcode lottery when accessing prostate cancer services across the country. This is unacceptable. In March we launched a report which highlights the inequalities that currently exist: Quality care. Everywhere? An audit of prostate cancer services in the UK

To address these inequalities, we have developed a quality checklist which outlines the care and support men should expect to receive. It is based on research with people affected by prostate cancer and healthcare professionals. We want local NHS bodies to sign up to our quality checklist to commit to providing top quality care and support for all men with prostate cancer.

Throughout Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, we have been asking politicians to encourage local health commissioners to adopt the checklist in their area. On 13 March, 27 campaigners joined us in Westminster to speak to MPs about why good quality care is so important for all men affected by prostate cancer. Over 100 MPs pledged their support for the checklist. In the Scottish Parliament on 28 March, our campaigners spoke to over 50 MSPs about the importance of universal quality care in Scotland.

You can also sign up for our campaigning newsletter so we can keep you up to date with our progress.

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Why did we launch this project?

We want to improve prostate cancer services across the UK.

We have developed this checklist because of the variations that exist in men's experience of care.

We are also concerned that, in England, NICE's quality standard for prostate cancer has been delayed until the end of 2014.

In Scotland, Quality Performance Indicators (QPIs) for prostate cancer have been developed, but they are far from comprehensive. We want our checklist to complement the QPIs to fully set out what men want from their care.

The quality checklist is evidence based, patient focused and patient driven, and describes the care that men with prostate cancer should receive at each step, from the point of diagnosis through to the end of life. It will help to support men by empowering them to seek the best possible information, care and support. It will also provide an opportunity to build a broad coalition across the UK among men with prostate cancer, health professionals, charity partners and politicians that is committed to ensuring that men receive the best possible care.

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How did we develop the quality checklist?

To develop our quality checklist:

Activity

Outcomes

We have talked to men affected by prostate cancer, their partners, friends, relatives and carers to understand what aspects of care matter most to them

Many men told us that they had good experiences of treatment and care, but wanted better information and support. View a report on the survey results

MPs and MSPs have hosted meetings in their constituencies to identify good quality care

See the list of meetings

We have asked those affected by prostate cancer to comment on a set of draft standards developed by the charity

See our survey from last year's Prostate Cancer Awareness Month

We have talked to health care professionals to get their views on quality care

Findings from these conversations have been used to develop our final checklist

We have asked MPs and MSPs to support our standards

See a list of MPs and MSPs who have pledged their support

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Quotes

John Baron MP, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Cancer said:

"I very much support the work The Prostate Cancer Charity is doing to identify standards of quality prostate cancer care. It is unacceptable that the quality of prostate cancer services varies across the country.

"The charity's work will help to redress some of these inequalities and I hope my colleagues will join me in supporting this work."

Care Services Minister Paul Burstow MP said:

"For men with prostate cancer and their families, the experience of care can be as important as the clinical outcome of the treatment.

"The Quality Care Project that The Prostate Cancer Charity is doing will make a vital contribution to driving up the standards of cancer care."