“I was elated. I was proud, and I was thankful that we could actually offer that here now, and it just worked so seamlessly.”
Clark said she had witnessed patients endure stress travelling to Palmerston North on the day of surgery and then return to Whanganui in time for their operation.
“Traveling the day of surgery out of town just didn’t sit okay with me,” said Clark.
On top of the mental toll this put on cancer patients, clinicians had to work extremely hard to co-ordinate the difficult logistics communicating between hospitals, relying on external services.
“It needed something to change,” Clark said.
Whanganui Hospital now has a new mammography machine and access to nuclear medicine, as well as the adoption of the Savi Scout system which uses a small reflector to identify where the tumour is - and can be done ahead of time - instead of the painful wires required on the day of surgery.
Surgeons can now analyse tumour specimens in real time, reducing the need for second surgeries and minimising delays in theatre.
It brings the standard of care up to what many other hospitals in New Zealand offer and potentially triples the number of patients able to be seen.
Patients still need to travel to Palmerston North before surgery, but they may now do this days or even weeks in advance.
Led by Clark, the project was a collaboration between Breast Screening Aotearoa, Nuclear Medicine in Palmerston North, IT services in the Whanganui Radiology Department, and Whanganui clinicians and surgeons.
“A story like this should reassure the public that, in the background of the health care services, there are people that genuinely come to work wanting the best for every single patient that’s coming through the door,” Clark said.
Health NZ clinical nurse manager, theatre services, Kathryn Harding, said it was “a huge win for our community”.
“Sarah’s leadership and grit have gifted our whānau a service that matches the best in the country.”
