Improving cancer care for children and young people is a key commitment in the NHS Long Term Plan. The National Cancer Patient Experience Survey (NCPES) for children under 16 years of age is a new national initiative to gather feedback from children and young people on the care and treatment they received. This will help understand what is good about children’s cancer care and identify how improvements can be made.

This new survey is made up of two separate questionnaires capturing the experiences of children at different ages; one for 8-11 year olds and one for 12-15 year olds. A questionnaire to capture the experiences of parents/carers (of children aged 0-15) has also been developed. Having both children’s and parents’ perspectives provides vital information about their cancer experience – what worked well during their care and what could be better or different – to help make cancer care better for the future.

The survey is currently conducted by Picker Institute Europe on behalf of NHS England and was first launched in 2020. The results are published on the Under 16 Cancer Patient Experience website.

If you would like to receive updates on the progress of the survey for children under 16, please do get in touch via england.insight-queries@nhs.net.

Support to complete the National Cancer Patient Experience Survey

Patients can get help, access a translator or complete their survey by telephone by calling the Picker FREEPHONE helpline on 0800 103 2804. Patients can also ask for the questionnaire in large print. To find out more about giving feedback visit the National Cancer Patient Experience Survey website.