Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to his Department's publication, Improving Outcomes: a Strategy for Cancer, what steps (a) his Department, (b) NHS England and (c) clinical commissioning groups plan to take to ensure that all cancer patients are treated with the highest levels of dignity and respect.

NHS Improving Quality will be working with the National Clinical Director for Cancer and with provider organisations to continue their service improvement work to improve patient experience and to ensure that patients' views are central to the way services are developed. NHS England is also working with NHS Improving Quality to develop better ways of using the Cancer Patient Experience Survey data within the National Health Service in order to maximise the impact of the survey, to be able to work with successful and struggling organisations to spread best practice for example.

Work on information prescriptions (IPs) has moved to Macmillan Cancer Support, and a report on the use of IPs is currently being considered by NHS England to decide how best this work can be taken forward. Work on quality in nursing was completed in March 2013, with the clinical nurse specialist survey handed over to Macmillan Cancer Support. NHS England is considering how to take forward work on the Multi-disciplinary team – feedback for improving team working programme.

Clinical commissioning groups are currently in the process of finalising measurable levels of ambition to improve patient experience and will be holding providers to account. These are based on NHS England's new measure for poor inpatient experience which includes dignity and respect and communication.

Compassion in Practice, the three year vision and strategy for nursing, midwifery and care staff, is also seeking to increase feedback from vulnerable and disadvantaged patient groups, who can have poorer experiences of care.