Share your cancer journey to improve services

14 March 2011

Hunter New England Health will hold two Cancer Listening Posts in the coming weeks (one in Tamworth and one in Armidale) as part of its efforts to improve the experiences of cancer patients in the region.

The Tamworth Listening Post will be held on Thursday 31 March and the Armidale session will be held on Friday 1 April.

The Listening Posts are an ideal opportunity for cancer patients past and present, carers and members of the community who have been affected by cancer to share their experiences, feedback and ideas for improvement in a relaxed, informal setting.

Hunter New England Health Director of Cancer Services Dr Anthony Proietto said the experiences shared during the session would be used help shape the next Hunter New England Health Cancer Services Strategic Plan, to be developed this year.

“Over the years, we have used a range of methods to get feedback from patients and carers about their experiences,” Dr Proietto said. “This is one more way of reaching the people who have used our services to give them an opportunity to tell us face-to-face what works well and what are the issues they believe need to be addressed in the future.

“We know we won’t be able to fix every problem, but we do want to hear what the issues are so we better understand what patients and their carers experience along the treatment journey.”

Dr Proietto and other senior members of the HNE Health Cancer Network will attend the Listening Post to hear first-hand what patients and carers experience through their treatment journey.

“We want those attending to talk openly and honestly in a relaxed setting and so will keep each session limited to eight people. As a result, registration is essential,” Dr Proietto said.

Only registered attendees will be invited into each session. To register for any of the Hunter New England Health Cancer Network Listening Posts, please call Hunter New England Health Cancer Network on (02) 4921 4159.

Details for the Tamworth and Armidale Hunter New England Health Cancer Network Listening Posts are:

Tamworth
Thursday 31 March
Quality Hotel Powerhouse
Refreshments served from 6.15pm for a 6.30pm start

Armidale
Friday 1 April
Armidale Ex Services Club
Refreshments served from 10.15am, for a 10.30am start

Contact: Emma Gibbs

Phone: (02) 6767 7137 or 0428 114 767