Patients' perspective of one-stop breast clinic, Lagos University Teaching Hospital

Abstract

Introduction: The complex nature of cancer diagnosis and treatment, with the pressing need for individualized patient care, has led to the services being organized into multidisciplinary teams (MDTs), also called tumor boards or cancer conferences. MDTs are beneficial as they provide coordinated, consistent, expert-driven, and cost-effective care that is delivered in a timely fashion to the patient. This study is aimed to assess the level of impact of a one-stop breast clinic on the management of breast cancer among breast cancer patients in Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH). Methodology: A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out among patients who attended the MDT breast clinic on referral from within and outside Lagos University Teaching Hospital LUTH. Results: The mean age ± standard deviation of the respondents was of 33.4 ± 7.62 years. More than half of the respondents (66%) felt satisfied about the workings of the MDT clinic, with less than a quarter of respondents reporting that were very satisfied with the clinic. Almost all the respondents (90%) were of the view that it allowed for a more expert opinion. Problems faced by the clinic in the MDT Clinic included filled up booking times (6%) and not taking enough time to attend to patients (2% each). Conclusion: The study revealed a good level of satisfaction among respondents about the MDT clinic; however, reservation on issues such as booking time, better patient to doctor relationship, and availability of more doctors were still of concern to patients. Addressing these issues are vital in achieving an all-round great experience in the multidisciplinary setting.