Picker awarded four-year contract to continue Under 16 Cancer Patient Experience Survey

Picker is pleased to announce its continued work with NHS England running the Under 16 Cancer Patient Experience Survey (U16 CPES) for an additional four years, spanning from 2023 to 2026.

This contract award follows Picker’s successful management of the programme since its inception in 2019, during which they played a pivotal role in developing the groundbreaking survey programme and methodology in partnership with NHS England.

This announcement comes as September marks Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, a poignant reminder of young patients and their families’ daunting journey as they navigate the complexities of cancer treatment. U16 CPES, supported by an esteemed Advisory Group comprising key stakeholders such as young people with cancer and their parents/carers, as well as charity representatives, plays a crucial role in advising on the survey methodology and ongoing development in the programme.

The survey allows young patients and their families to voice their care experiences, facilitating a deeper connection between healthcare providers, and those they serve.  The information collected is invaluable for healthcare providers, policymakers, and third-sector organisations alike.  The programme fosters person centred care by:

• Improving Quality: The survey data helps healthcare providers identify areas where they excel and areas to prioritise for improvement, ultimately enhancing the overall quality of care provided to young cancer patients.
• Tailoring Services: By understanding young cancer patients’ unique needs and challenges, healthcare organisations and charities can adapt their services and support to better meet these needs.
• Enhancing Communication: Effective communication is vital in healthcare. The survey feedback helps identify communication gaps and enables healthcare professionals to bridge them, ensuring that patients and their families are well-informed and involved in their care decisions.

Picker is committed to producing comprehensive resources at national and local level, including static reports, interactive online results, and visually engaging summaries. These resources not only provide valuable insights to healthcare providers and policymakers but also empower young cancer patients and their families by evidence to influence and improve their care.

This announcement reaffirms Picker’s dedication to enhancing the quality and effectiveness of children’s cancer care and support services through rigorous research and innovative methodologies. By continuing U16 CPES, Picker and NHS England aim to promote person centred care, placing the needs and well-being of young patients at the forefront.

Picker is proud to be leading this critical endeavour and looks forward to further advancing person centred care through the power of patient feedback and collaboration.

Amy Tallett, Head of Research at Picker, said:

We are delighted to continue our valuable work delivering the Under 16 Cancer Patient Experience Survey on behalf of NHS England for the next four years. The survey allows young patients and their families to voice their care experiences. This helps charities and care providers across England have the insight to understand and improve young cancer patients’ care experiences and person centred care.

Over the next four years, we will continue to improve the survey programme with input from the expert Advisory Group alongside young patients and their parents/carers, and use innovative approaches to improve the survey response rate”

Ends 

Notes for Editors 

• Picker is an international charity working across health and social care.  Established in the US in 1987 and UK in 2000, our work is at the forefront of understanding and furthering the link between patient experience, person centred care, and clinical excellence.  We believe in high quality person centred care for all, always.   
• Developed in 2020, the survey aims to understand the experience of cancer and tumour care among children and their parents/carers. The results help improve young people’s cancer services across England. Further details about the Under 16 Cancer Patient Experience Survey are available on the website
• We are looking for children with cancer, and their parents/carers, to help test the survey between October 2023 and January 2024. Please contact under16cancersurvey@pickereurope.ac.uk for more information. 
• The U16 CPES programme of work is built on decades of expertise, putting Picker at the forefront of mixed-methodology survey deployments – combining paper and digital to maximise inclusion and accessibility.  We interrogate the links between staff morale and patient experience and consistently work to define terms and measure experience more effectively.  
• For all media enquiries, contact the Marketing & Communications Manager at Picker, Lorraine Pullen pressoffice@pickereurope.ac.uk Mobile: 07825 952160.