Following the success of the ninth East Gippsland’s Biggest Ever BBQ Lunch, which was held on March 1 and was bigger and better than any before, how the around $50,000 raised will be spent locally in support of a local prostate specialist nurse is the concern of local blokes diagnosed with the disease.
“The Big Blokes Barbecue was once again a great event,” Bairnsdale Prostrate Cancer Support Group leader, Wayne Stagg, said.
“But with the retirement of Judy Mays (former East Gippsland prostate specialist nurse) earlier this year we are concerned with how the position will be filled and where the blokes BBQ funds will go.”
“There was a rumour that they were going to run it away from Ross Street (the Bairnsdale Regional Health Service (BRHS) campus where Judy operated) and move it to the oncology department at the hospital,” former support group leader, Linton Blackwell said, a rumour that has since been confirmed by BRHS.
“It’s a terrific atmosphere out there at Ross Street, and the hospital is nothing like it. Ross Street is friendly, it’s convenient, there’s parking for everyone, whereas up at the oncology department, it will be clinical.”
“The ward itself at the hospital is pleasant enough, but where someone would be having their catheter removed for example it’s not as good,” Mr Stagg said.
“For example just before Christmas a bloke from Lakes Entrance called me very distressed. He had a blocked catheter and felt his bladder was about to burst. He was in a lot of trouble.
“I’m not medical support, but I was able to get the message to the prostate cancer specialist nurse at Ross Street at the time, Judy Mays. He was able to be seen at Lakes Entrance and he was very grateful.
“How that would work, that same scenario, in the future, who knows?
“Judy used to travel all over, to Orbost and Buchan. Her outreach was wonderful, and she has always said, if the specialist nurse is not community based, if it’s hospital based, that personalised outreach might not happen.”
It’s the unknown that concerns Mr Stagg, Mr Blackwell and the rest of the support group members.
“We know how it works, the process, but if it’s going to be based in the rabbit warren of the hospital, who knows?” Mr Stagg said.
“How mobile is our prostate cancer survivor going to be? And where are they going to find parking? How far are they going to have to walk?
“In a scenario when someone is in a situation where they are unable to get the hospital, in an outreach situation, are they going to get a nurse to get in a car and drive 90 kilometres or more to help?”
The number of days a week that a specialist nurse is in the role is also a concern for the men.
“Judy said herself she couldn’t do her job properly doing just two days a week,” Mr Blackwell said.
“It’s got to be a minimum of three days a week.”
“The number of us blokes diagnosed with prostate cancer is up there with breast cancer,” Mr Stagg said.
“It’s about the same, with minimum medical support when compared to breast cancer support.”
“I think the McGrath breast cancer nurse works five days a week,” Mr Blackwell said.
“Which is terrific, and I’m not knocking that. We just want to get up there.”
“That’s what our aspirations are,” Mr Stagg said.
When the Advertiser spoke with Ms Mays on her retirement in February, she said it was thanks to the Big Blokes BBQ that her specialist position came about. It would not have happened otherwise.
“There were only 28 specialist nurses nationally when I first started. Now there are 42,” Ms Mays said.
“They (Prostate Cancer Foundation Australia, PCFA) are trying to build it up to be the same as the McGrath breast care nurse numbers, because they’ve got hundreds of nurses now, and they want to be on par with them.
“That will happen. It all comes down to money. They’ve been lobbying for the Commonwealth Government to fund the positions, but a lot of the positions are funded by the community and the Big Blokes Barbecues. Some are funded under the Commonwealth, that came in a couple of years ago, but there are the likes of me, and Leanne Prosser in the Latrobe Valley, she’s still funded by the Big Blokes Barbecue. The PCFA match what the blokes’ barbecues put in. That’s all the funding we get.”
“We are also concerned with regards to the new nurse’s training,” Mr Stagg said.
Ms Mays said when she took on the specialist role she received very little training for the new position and relied on her experience as a continence nurse.
“Hopefully the new specialist nurse will be able to get training. There’s a lot to learn and I really only learnt it all through experience and peers, so hopefully she, or he, will get the proper training and education needed,” she said.
“Not any nurse can do the position. You’ve got to have the special interest in cancer.”
“We feel we are really still in the dark in terms of what we can expect for the future care and support of prostate cancer patients and survivors across East Gippsland,” Mr Stagg said.
“We are extremely thankful for the support of the Big Blokes Barbecue and want to know that the masses of funds raised are going in the right direction.
“We want to get value for money for what the barbie has done for the last nine years.”
“It needs to be appropriate for the needs of the patients and survivors, not what the hospital wants,” Mr Blackwell said.
“We also want to get men’s health on par with women’s health, because at this stage men’s health in general is way, way behind.”
CARE COORDINATION
BRHS oncology nurse unit manager, Kay Stephenson, said the model that the PCFA is suggesting BRHS should move towards is a model where the nurse is based in an environment that is conducive to providing care coordination with the multiple of health providers who care for the patient with prostate cancer.
“Having the prostate cancer nurse based in the acute sector will enable them to meet with the visiting urologists and be on site to support the patient when they are first provided with their diagnosis from the urologist. The visiting urologists are supportive of this model,” Ms Stephenson said.
“Receiving a new diagnosis can be very overwhelming for a patient and ready support at this time is essential. The oncologist who manages the prostate cancer patients also consults from the acute sector and it would be helpful to have easy access to the prostate cancer nurse when they are consulting at BRHS.
“The treatment day unit and the palliative services are also both on the acute campus. To maximise the number of contacts the prostate cancer nurse can make having them call into the ODU (oncology dialysis unit) will be very valuable.”
Ms Stephenson said it is an option, should space be available and a patient particularly requests it, that they are able to meet with the prostate cancer nurse at Ross Street.
“The successful applicant will work with the ODU manager in establishing what is the best way to manage this,” she said.
Referrals for assistance with continence issues will continue as previously and be managed by the continence team based in Ross Street. Erectile dysfunction groups or meetings will be set up in the most convenient venue.
“This may be in the evenings, so the acute site is possibly a safer site for this type of group,” Ms Stephenson said.
“We will be endeavouring to provide patient centred care to all patients with prostate cancer.” Mapping of needs will be one of the first roles that is undertaken and feedback from all patients will be sought to ensure all key stakeholders are heard.
“We will be learning as we go and really seek the support of all involved to enable the change of manager to be realised in as supportive environment as is possible,” Ms Stephenson said.
Ms Stephenson said at this stage the position will continue as a 0.4 EFT.
“We envisage that these days will be Wednesday and Thursday as these days match with when the oncologist and urologists are consulting,” she said.
BRHS acting chief executive officer, Bernadette Hammond, confirmed that the process is well underway to recruit a new prostate specialist nurse, which will be based at the hospital’s oncology department as part of the BRHS cancer support hub.
“The prostate cancer specialist nurse is a valuable position,” she said.
“It is a model that we seek to build and strengthen. It is not an easy or quick process to fill a specialist nursing position and it is not unusual to have it remain vacant after the first round of applications.
“We have had conversations with Sale hospital (Central Gippsland Health Service) about a possible 0.8 position shared with them to cover, which is an option should we not fill our two-day a week position here.
“The position will be at least a two-day one; we will not be reducing it. We know there is a demand out there, one that will probably grow.”
Chair of the East Gippsland Big Blokes BBQ, Bob Yeates, said “Bairnsdale has lagged since January with no nurse”.
“Prostate cancer is the number one health issue for men,” he said.
“In the past five years survival rates have improved 95 per cent due to awareness.”
Mr Yeates said for the past 10 years the Big Blokes BBQs in Victoria and Tasmania have raised more than $6 million to support prostate cancer nurses in local regional hospitals.
“Each year the East Gippsland Big Blokes BBQ raises between $50-55,000, with about $35,000 of that going to the local hospital to help fund a specialist prostate nurse locally.
“With the help of the PCFA we will continue to drive expansion of a specialist nurse program with the ability to access dedicated support when required.”
Awareness is the key, and Mr Yeates says “just like servicing a car, blokes should get their prostate checked once a year”.
The current arrangement with BRHS is that the Big Blokes BBQ raises $35,000 per annum for three years to help fund the prostate nurse position. BRHS contribute some funds and PCFA uses the funds to pay for the role.
PROSTATE SUPPORT GROUP OUTING
The local prostate cancer support group members and partners will enjoy an outing to Lakes Entrance on April 9 for a social game of mini golf and a lunch afterwards on their usual second Tuesday of each month get together. Anyone who’d like to meet the group on this occasion should contact Wayne Stagg (details at the Advertiser).
