reconstructive plastic surgery - Macquarie University Hospital

16
THE wEll-RESPECTED
ADVOCACY GROuP
CAnCER VOiCES nSw
will COllAbORATE
wiTH MACquARiE
uniVERSiTY HOSPiTAl
TO EnSuRE THAT PATiEnT
nEEDS AnD HOSPiTAl
SERViCES ARE AliGnED.
Robust dialogue between patient needs
and hospital services is vital if the health
sector is to deliver the best possible services.
When it comes to cancer, this task is
challenging because the disease is complex
and the patient journey often a long and
difficult one.
The independent consumer advocacy
group Cancer Voices NSW was established
to keep that dialogue alive, taking the
voices of patients diagnosed with cancer to
government, medical and other health
services organisations.
Sally Crossing, Founder and Chair of Cancer
Voices NSW, established the group ten years
ago, initially influenced by her own breast
cancer experiences. She left a career in the
banking and government sectors to devote
herself to addressing the pressing need for a
state-wide cancer consumer voice. That
voice would give patients what they needed
to be able to influence decision-makers and
become more effective health consumers.
In 1997, Sally started the Breast Cancer
Action Group NSW. Along with other
like-minded cancer consumers, Sally realised
that many issues for cancer patients were
the same – regardless of cancer type – and
that a collective voice could bring more
powerful results. Cancer Voices NSW was set
up in 2000 and has just celebrated its first
successful decade.
The group is now a robust advocacy group
that is getting some big wins for patients.
“our role is to say ‘this is what patients need;
this is what patients would like,’” said Sally.
“In this sense, we are the dialogue between
patients, doctors and the health system’s
decision-makers. For cancer patients, there
are lots of unknowns. They need support
when they walk into a hospital. Things need
to be made easier for them.
“That’s part of the work that Cancer Voices
NSW is interested in. And it’s part of what we
will be doing with Macquarie University
Hospital.”
This work contributes to the group’s wider
purpose: to enable cancer patients to
become informed health consumers, where
access to reliable information is a key step in
becoming an active part of the decisionmaking
process.
“I took a few wrong turns, when I was
initially diagnosed,” said Sally. “I followed
what was recommended to me, rather than
making some of my own decisions based
on well-researched and credible information.
“Initiatives to better inform cancer patients
are often simple in concept, but of huge
significance for those needing the services.
“For example, we advocated for and helped
develop a consumer friendly cancer trials
website, so that people could review the
research being done and see if there was a
clinical trial that might suit their own cancer
profile. It’s now hosted by Cancer Australia.
Another much-needed initiative has been
establishing a directory of specialists and
surgeons. For cancer patients, often finding
the right health care professional is a crucial
step in their treatment.
“Following only a GPs advice may not serve
a particular patient well,” said Sally. “A GP
may not know the full range of cancer
specialists, or which are connected to
appropriate multidisciplinary teams. So the
Breast Cancer Action Group NSW, together