A service evaluation investigating the effect of complexity factors on treatment times for radical lung cancer patients

Abstract Introduction: Radiotherapy departments need to allocate appropriate treatment appointment times to maintain quality of care. Lung cancer patients typically exceed their appointment time due to their increased co-morbidities. Modern radiotherapy methods have reduced treatment time; however, different complexity factors cannot be predicted, indicating that time allocation for treatment appointments requires regular monitoring. Methods: Quantitative data were collected for 4 weeks, including treatment time allocated, actual treatment time required, and different complexity factors of radical lung cancer patients. Descriptive statistics were employed to analyse the treatment times recorded. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was deployed to determine statistical significance. Results: Nineteen cancer patients were included in data collection, and 76 treatment times were recorded. Over 70% of patients’ treatment appointments exceeded the allocated 15 minutes. 11 out of the 15 complexity factors recorded were statistically significant. The overall treatment appointment time was statistically significant and showed that on average, patients required 3 minutes longer than allocated. Conclusion: Most treatments recorded exceeded their allocated appointment time. Patient complexity factors significantly influenced time, indicating that appointment allocation needs to be considered on a patient-to-patient basis. This evaluation determined that appointment allocation needs to be investigated for all cancer patients in individual departments, to ensure high-quality care.