Danika Marmara, director of Cancer Care Pathways.Danika Marmara, director of Cancer Care Pathways.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has hailed staff at Mater Dei Hospital for introducing nurses whose job is to guide cancer patients through the complex treatment labyrinth.

WHO has also advised other countries to consider following in Malta’s footsteps.

Introduced by the director of Cancer Care Pathways, Danika Marmara, the new ‘nurse navigators’ are trained to guide cancer patients through the bureaucracy of their treatment process with a specialised, tailor-made care plan.

“The nurse navigator makes the system revolve around the patient” the WHO said in a news release last month.

“At a time of great distress, the nurse navigator guides the patient through a maze of services, protocols and forms and creates a cocoon of confidence in the system that is good for a patient’s mental health and contributes enormously to the quality of the overall therapeutic experience.”

Other countries, it added, could be inspired by a similar system in their own hospitals.

“Other countries may take note, as early signs are that this model is providing real improvements and truly embodying patient-centred care.”

The service, which was commended by the WHO as “innovative”, is offered at the Sir Anthony Mamo Oncology Centre at Mater Dei Hospital.

Marmara told Times of Malta that the nurse navigator’s job is not only to ensure the patient is coping with the myriad of tests and appointments with consultants but also to stand as a voice for the patient, a bridge between doctors and the patient’s family and also to make sure that the treatment process is not unnecessarily delayed.

The navigators continue to follow patients for months, even after the treatments stop, to ensure a smooth healing process.

Marmara studied cancer treatment in the UK, focusing her research on why patients often fall through the cracks of the treatment system or are struck by bewilderment in the face of the distressing exigencies of testing and chemotherapy.

A system of ‘navigators’ that was being tested in the United States caught her eye and inspired her to develop a similar concept designed for the needs of Maltese patients at the oncology centre.

The service kicked off in 2017 with a nurse navigator programme for colorectal cancer but has since spread out to cover “gastrointestinal, lung, urological (prostate, bladder, kidneys, penile, testes), gynaecological, head and neck and most recently, breast cancer”.

 

 

 

 

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