June 2009 Newsletter

Our key focus at present is finalising the network's strategic plan and it is currently with key stakeholders for sign-off prior to being submitted to the Ministry of Health by 30 June. We thank all of you for your contributions and feedback.

At a national level, the New Zealand Cancer Control Steering Group has agreed the priorities for the 2009/10 year and regional cancer networks and constituent organisations have been asked to focus their annual work programme on lung and bowel cancer. Networks have also been asked to initiate service improvement projects in 09/10. Other priorities include non-surgical cancer treatment planning and regional access to surgery.

There have been some changes to membership of the Midland Cancer Network Executive Group. We welcome Illona Weekley and Jane Chittenden from Lakes, and Ditre Tamatea, Josephine Samuelu and Leanne Tyrie from Waikato.

Darryl Groufsky joined the team in April and provides analytical support to the network one day a week.

We are profiling a different organisation in each edition of the newsletter. In this newsletter we profile the support services provided by the Cancer Society.

Please contact us if you would like to share your stories about cancer-related initiatives in future newsletters.

Jan Hewitt Network

Manager

Deborah Murphy visit

Our last newsletter profiled Deborah Murphy and her presentation "Implementation of the Liverpool Care Pathway in 18 countries" is on our website as are others from that Midland Palliative Care Work Group meeting at

Congratulations

We congratulate Jan Clark who has been invited to join the national governance group for Liverpool Care Pathway. Jan is a clinical nurse specialist for palliative care with responsibility for liaison with rest homes and private hospitals as part of the Health Waikato Specialist Palliative Care Service.

Waikato's radiation oncology patients will know exactly what they're in for before they get to Waikato Hospital thanks to a doctor's initiative to use online videos which show patients exactly what to expect when they come up for an appointment. Written information and the videos are on line at

Chronic disease is a major cause of death for Maori men in the Waikato.

Now a new three-year study undertaken by Waikato District Health Board's Te Puna Oranga (Māori health service) will look at barriers to achieving whānau ora by Māori men over 40 with an existing chronic disease or cancer.

Interviews will take place with the men, their whānau support persons, clinicians and service providers.

The research team: (left to right): Kay Berryman, Veronique Gibbons, Professor. Ross Lawrenson, Wayne Johnstone, Rawiri Blundell, Dr. Jacquie Kidd.

For more information go to

As reported in the last newsletter, the Midland Cancer Network funded a team using Lean Thinking to map the colonoscopy pathway from general practitioner referral to colonoscopy procedure for Waikato, Lakes and Bay of Plenty district health boards. The colonoscopy project also focused on the following areas: improved quality and efficiency of services, reduced delay between each step/process, demand/capacity and workload balancing.

Key issues that were identified

* Difficulty in identifying the current waitlist due to different data systems which then made forecasting demand difficult.

* Significant demand for outpatient clinics.

* Different general practitioner referral forms; delays in processing referral forms and forms rejected because of incorrect information.

* Difficulties in identifying the number of patients waiting for different types of appointments: a first specialist appointment, a colonoscopy, or for surveillance especially in Waikato.

* Different grading systems between specialities e.g. between general surgeons and gastroenterologists.

The Waikato/Bay of Plenty Division of the Cancer Society of New Zealand Inc (Cancer Society) is the second largest Cancer Society division in New Zealand. Offices are situated in Hamilton, Tauranga and Rotorua.

They provide a range of support services for people with cancer and their family/whānau. These include:

Cancer Society liaison nurses

In most areas nurses provide regular support and education to people newly diagnosed or receiving treatment for cancer. People are able to self refer or be referred by a health professional. Support includes:Provision of information about managing symptoms, Emotional support and Liaison with other service providers on a person's behalf.

Financial support

Grants are available to people with cancer experiencing financial hardship (when no other help is available) for: Transport costs, household expenses, accommodation for treatment away from home, counselling, special equipment and other essential needs.

Transport assistance

Each of the Cancer Society offices has details about transport assistance available within their area and from their area to the Regional Cancer Centre at Waikato Hospital.

Patient advocacy service

Staff are available to act on behalf of a person to resolve difficulties or anxieties a patient may have about their treatment options.

Lions Cancer Lodge

Free accommodation and a wide range of support for out-of -town cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy and chemotherapy at the Regional Cancer Centre, Waikato Hospital.

Support groups

Support groups are available around the region with some facilitated by the cancer liaison nurses and others by trained volunteers.

Look Good Feel Better

These two hour workshops are held regularly in Hamilton, Rotorua, and Tauranga as well as Thames, Taupo and Whakatane assisting women by improving their quality of life while coping with the physical side effects of cancer.

Living with Cancer education sessions

Courses run regularly in Hamilton, Rotorua, Tauranga and Taupo. Bookings are essential for these.

Questions you may wish to ask - This is a set of booklets in 12 different languages. Often when people are first diagnosed with cancer they are unable to think of the right questions to ask their health professional. For those whose first language is not English it can be even more bewildering. Simple basic questions in the 12 most-spoken languages in New Zealand can prompt the questions and there is space provided for the answer to be written down. A diagram of the body allows the health practitioner to point out the affected areas.

For more information or a copy of the material please contact your local Cancer Society office.