Family and carer involvement in cancer care continues to improve, national survey finds

Results from the 2024 National Cancer Patient Experience Survey highlight sustained improvements in how cancer services involve patients’ family members and carers. Other key areas of care, including patient privacy, also show positive results. While support from GP practices during treatment remains an area for improvement, results here have reached a four-year high, reflecting continued progress in this area. 

Commissioned by NHS England and conducted by Picker, the survey gathered feedback from over 64,000 patients treated for cancer between April and June 2024. The findings offer valuable insights into what is working well and where further improvements can be made across NHS cancer services. 

Involving families and carers

A growing proportion of patients report that cancer services are welcoming the involvement of family and carers during critical moments of care. In 2024, 82.7% of patients were informed that they could have a family member, carer, or friend present when receiving their diagnosis, an increase from 80.9% in 2023, 75.9% in 2022 and 70.1% in 2021. 

Additionally, 84.9% of patients said that their family or carers were ‘definitely’ involved in treatment decisions to the extent they wanted, up from 83.5% in 2023, 80.0% in 2022, and 74.7% in 2021. 

Privacy

The majority (94.6%) of all respondents said they were ‘always’ given enough privacy when receiving diagnostic test results. This figure remains unchanged since 2022 and is slightly up from 94.4% in 2021, indicating a consistent high standard of care in this area. 

Support from GP practices during treatment

Of those patients who said that their GP practice was involved in their cancer treatment only around half (47.7%) said that they “definitely” received the right amount of support. This is the highest result in four years, and a 4 percentage point increase since 2021. Whilst there is still a need for improvement in this area, the upward trend demonstrates ongoing progress. 

Commenting on the results, Jenny King, Picker‘s Chief Research Officer, said:

“The 2024 National Cancer Patient Experience Survey findings reflect measurable progress in key domains of person centred cancer care, particularly around the involvement of families and carers and respect for patient privacy. These improvements align with national priorities around shared decision-making and personalised care as seen in the recently published 10 Year Health Plan. While challenges remain, especially regarding the support provided by primary care during treatment, the progress seen here is encouraging. 

“As the government prepares to publish the national cancer plan later this year, these insights amplify the patient voice and offer timely evidence to inform policy.  The 10 Year Plan for Health states its aim is to “put power back in the hands of the people”, it is essential, therefore, that future strategies are grounded in the lived experiences of people with cancer.” 

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Notes to editors

• For media enquiries, please contact Marketing and Communications team at pressoffice@pickereurope.ac.uk, or phone: 01865 632 235.

• The survey is conducted by Picker on behalf of NHS England. 

• Eligible participants included all adult patients (aged 16 and over) with a confirmed diagnosis of cancer, who had been admitted to hospital as an inpatient for cancer related treatment or who were seen as a day case patient for cancer related treatment, and had been discharged between 1st April 2024 and 30th June 2024. 

• The survey was conducted between November 2024 and February 2025. 64,055 people responded to the survey, yielding a response rate of 50%. 

• Details about how the survey was administered, and full results are available at https://www.ncpes.co.uk/.

• Picker’s submission to the government’s ‘shaping the national cancer plan’ call for evidence is available here. 

Picker’s team of researchers and data scientists are available to support organisations in understanding, measuring, and using workforce and user experience. For queries about our services or to request a call, please contact info@pickereurope.ac.uk.