Lung cancer teams pair up to share best practice and improve patient care

Data from the National Lung Cancer Audit (NLCA) had previously revealed variations in lung cancer outcomes across England. ILCOP was established to identify reasons for the variation in clinical (NLCA) outcomes as well as patient experience outcomes, which were collected through a specifically designed lung cancer patient questionnaire. The project used proven quality improvement measures to support the teams to make improvements and came up with an educational programme to spread the learning across the 30 teams and the wider lung cancer clinical community.

The project paired hospitals and multi-disciplinary teams, and encouraged them to visit each others’ services and review their processes. This collaborative approach allowed lung cancer teams to share practice, resulting in a variety of practical improvements to processes, the patient pathway, and patient experience, as detailed in the attached booklet.

 Practical examples of quality improvement projects undertaken by ILCOP teams include the following:

• At Burton Hospitals NHS Trust, a new lung cancer care pathway ensures that patients have a CT scan, lung function and blood tests before their appointment in a new dedicated lung cancer clinic. Before the clinic, time is set aside for respiratory physicians and radiologists to discuss the patients’ CT scans. This meeting enables the patient’s respiratory consultant to inform patients of their results and tell them about any additional diagnostic tests they may need, when they come to the clinic. The clinic has been scheduled so that patients who require additional tests can have them on the same day. These changes have reduced the average time a patient waits to receive a lung cancer diagnosis.

•  At Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust, there is a new process for processing and reviewing bronchial biopsy specimens. The specimens are now ensured of being set in a fixative the same night of the patient’s bronchoscopy procedure, and the results are now usually ready for the team who discuss treatment options (the Multidisciplinary team) 24 hours after the original sample was taken. These changes have speeded up the time it takes to make a lung cancer diagnosis.

Dr Ian Woolhouse, ILCOP clinical director, said:

I have been tremendously impressed with the enthusiasm of lung cancer teams to participate in this project, in particular, the willingness to share innovative ideas and support other teams in implementing them. The challenge now is to build on the learning from this project to drive further improvements in lung cancer care and ensure they are spread and sustained to all lung cancer teams in England.

The ‘Improving care for lung cancer patients’ booklet is attached. For further information or to arrange an interview For further information, please contact Linda Cuthbertson, head of PR, on +44 (0)203 075 1254 / 0774 877 7919, or email Linda.Cuthbertson@rcplondon.ac.uk