Better breast cancer treatment and care for all New Zealanders should be on the horizon thanks to the introduction of new national standards for breast cancer care.
The Standards of Service Provision for Breast Cancer Patients in New Zealand were developed by a clinical working group chaired by renowned Waikato breast surgeon Ian Campbell and made up of cancer experts, such as surgeons, oncologists, nurses, and consumer representatives including BCAC’s Libby Burgess.
The standards describe the care and services a person with breast cancer should have access to, no matter where they live in the country.
BCAC chair, Libby Burgess, expects to see improvements for breast cancer patients following introduction of the standards as they provide District Health Boards (DHBs) with a clear benchmark for best practice treatment and care.
Libby says, “Although the standards are not mandatory, DHBs will be able to compare the services they currently provide with those set out in the standards to identify where they can make improvements and provide cancer patients with better care.”
She is hopeful that the standards will help to address many of the issues BCAC has raised previously with Minister of Health, Tony Ryall, including:
- waiting times for breast cancer patients in rural areas
- access to delayed breast reconstruction
- access to counselling and psychological help
- fertility treatment for young women with cancer
- lymphoedema treatment and care.
Libby says the introduction of the standards is only a first step and is urging the Ministry of Health to adequately monitor DHBs to ensure they abide by the new standards and deliver top quality treatment for all New Zealand women with breast cancer.
“It’s important that DHBs know they will be held to account if their services fall short of these standards. A transparent monitoring system is the only way to ensure that all DHBs meet the standards and provide our women with top quality care,” Libby says.
The standards for breast cancer patients were introduced earlier this year along with standards of service provision for nine other common cancer types in New Zealand, including bowel, melanoma, blood and gynaecological cancers.
All the new standards are modelled on the successful lung cancer standards that were developed in 2011 and have helped improve care for lung cancer patients across the country.
The standards are part of the Government’s $33 million Faster Cancer Treatment programme and will be formally reviewed in five years, to ensure they remain current. The tumour standard working groups will also be asked to complete a desk-top review of the provisional tumour standards within two years.
A copy of the standards is available on the Ministry of Health website
www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/cancer-programme/faster-cancer-treatment-programme/tumour-standards
