The Greater Manchester Cancer Alliance is committed to ensuring good quality Treatment Summaries are available to all cancer patients and will support Trusts to accurately report activity through COSD as required nationally.
What are Treatment Summaries?
Any treatment summary that focuses on a single treatment modality, such as the summary provided upon completion of radiotherapy, chemotherapy or surgery. This phrase will also incorporate the terms ‘mid-treatment summary’ and ‘single-modality treatment summary’ used by some teams.
What are End of Treatment Summaries (EOTS)?
A patient should have an end of treatment appointment where all aspects of the patient’s treatment are discussed. This results in a written document that prepares patients to enter onto a self-management pathway. All Trusts in Greater Manchester use the same EOTS template, providing the same core information to patients. There are currently 60 Treatment and End of Treatment Summaries in use which have been developed and approved through the relevant Pathway Boards with input from patient and carer representatives.
What’s included in an EOTS?
- A patient’s diagnosis and a summary of all treatments to date
- Key contact numbers
- Red flag symptoms that require direct access back to the follow up team
- Red flag symptoms that require the patient to attend A&E
- Symptoms of treatment to be aware of
- Symptoms of late effects to look out for
- Ongoing follow up
- Referrals made or advice given on other services
- Health and Wellbeing advice
- Action for GP
Benefits of an EOTS
Treatment Summaries are written for patients. A copy is sent to the patient’s GP as it contains information that the GP needs to know about.
- Can alleviate patients concerns
- Patients feel more confident talking to their GP about their treatment
- Good reference guide for the patient
- Information can be shared with other health professionals or insurance companies
- Information can be shared with carers
- Provides information for the Cancer Care Review
The Future of End of Treatment Summaries
To develop a more patient friendly template that meets the needs of our population, using more patient friendly medical terms, simpler language, pictures and an improved health and wellbeing information. The new and improved template will be developed with the support of patient and carer representatives.