Maintaining the safety of patients who undergo systemic anticancer therapy (SACT) is a priority and 24-hour acute oncology services have been developed to assist patients in managing treatment-related side effects. Because SACT is mostly delivered in the outpatient setting, healthcare professionals need to be able to rely on patients to recognise and report treatment-related toxicities, which means patients need a high degree of self-efficacy. At University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, patients preparing to undergo immunotherapy or chemotherapy take part in a group pre-assessment workshop aimed at improving their self-efficacy.

This article reports the findings of an evaluation of this group pre-assessment workshop. These findings confirm that pre-assessment is a complex intervention that requires adaptability and identifies the need to reiterate information to patients about treatment at every contact with the healthcare team. The group pre-assessment workshop appeared to be acceptable and beneficial to patients but further research is required to determine whether it improves their self-efficacy.