Cancer Quality Index report ranks Regional Cancer Care above most provincial programs

The Regional Cancer Care has out shined other Ontario centres for treatment and wait times, according to the annual Cancer Quality Index report.

The Cancer Quality Council of Ontario released its 2011 report on Wednesday on 14 regional cancer care programs in the province. The CQCO measured 26 cancer quality indicators, from quality of services to end-of-life-care.

The Thunder Bay Regional Cancer Care ranked second overall in the province with top scores in wait times, treatment and overall patient experience.

The report showed that about 75 per cent of Thunder Bay patients had consultations with their doctors within 14 days of their initial visit, while about 91 per cent of patients started radiation treatment within the same targeted time.

The cancer centre remained above the provincial average in several categories – patient experience in care, Synoptic Pathology reporting, and wait times.

Michael Power, vice-president of the Regional Cancer Care, said the results were a great cause for celebration and would put the data to good use when creating the next strategic plan.

"The data shows that we are outperforming the province," Power said. "When you have the data you have the power to drive change. Our patient satisfaction scores have emphasised that we in Thunder Bay as well, as in the Northwest, are a top performer in Canada.

“We have been amongst the best of the 22 cancer centres in this country for the better part of this past decade."

But it wasn’t a clean sweep for the regional centre. The Regional Cancer Care is falling short in prevention. More Northwestern Ontario residents are smoking, consuming alcohol and having poor eating habits compared to other areas in the province.

Doctors diagnose more residents in Northwestern Ontario with colon, breast, lung and prostate cancer than in any other region in Ontario. The number of incidents of cancer will remain high as long as people continue these bad habits, he said.

Power said addressing prevention will be a topic of discussion during the next strategic plan, scheduled to be released in June.

Michael Sherar, president and CEO of Cancer Care Ontario, said that overall the report shows Ontario is doing well.

"We’re on the right track in Ontario," Sherar said via video conference. "But the index this year also points out areas for improvement. The index shines a light on those improvements."

Sherar added that the co-ordination between doctors and health-care providers when patients go through treatment is one of those areas that need improvement.

There are several stages a patient goes through and having better co-ordination would go a long way to improve the patient’s experience, he said.