Hitting above their weight
CALL FOR CERTIFIED ONCOLOGY PROGRAMS LOCALLY
THE lack of qualified nurses at the Colonial War Memorial Hospital’s oncology department in Suva is an issue.
Speaking during a recent Pinktober launch, the hospital’s nursing manager Kelera Soata said this was because of the nonavailability of certified oncology programs locally.
Despite not having the qualifications, she said the nurses continued to treat cancer patients.
Ms Soata said any specialised nurse treating cancer patients required advance certifications in clinical qualifications in oncology.
She said nurses added a soft touch to cancer treatment.
Responding to these concerns, Minister for Health Dr Ifereimi Waqainabete said the nurses did not carry out diagnosis as it was done by the doctors.
He said there was a “Plan to actually train and develop clinical nurse specialists but at the moment the quality of care of the patients that we have in our oncology unit or right across Fiji are not compromised”.
NURSES continue to treat cancer patients in Fiji without any proper qualifications in oncology, says Colonial War Memorial Hospital’s (CWMH) nursing manager Kelera Soata.
Speaking during a recent Pinktober launch in Suva, Ms Soata said the reason for this was the nonavailability of certified oncology programs locally.
Despite not having the qualifications, she said the nurses continued to treat cancer patients.
“They need to have a postgraduate diploma,” Ms Soata said.
“Without the full qualifications they continue to carry out the care.”
Ms Soata said the nurses added a soft touch to cancer treatment.
“The treatment can be aggressive, all survivors can witness this, the hair fall, vomiting and all these things. So the nurses are bridges to that gap and they add the soft touch.”
She said nurses also cared for palliative patients, adding that with the support of the Fiji Cancer Society, the nurses were able to do their job.
“Nurses play an important role in oncology treatment and patient care through close involvement with patients after they have been diagnosed.”
Any specialised nurse treating cancer patients, she said, however, required advanced certification in clinical qualifications in oncology.
She said nurses in Fiji who were treating cancer patients only had the typical Bachelor in Nursing.
“To become a fully fledged oncology nurse, one has to acquire a postgraduate qualification in the area of specialty and this is not available locally.”
Meanwhile, Minister for Health Ifereimi Waqainabete said nurses did not carry out diagnosis as it was done by the doctors. “When I worked in New Zealand, we had a breast care nurse who did training in breast care but she was doing some of the work that doctors were doing so essentially it’s about being able to raise to the capacity where the doctor or specialist can actually off-load some of his or her work to the nurse,” said Dr Waqainabete.
“So we do that as time goes on because we have a plan to actually train and develop clinical nurse specialists but at the moment the quality of care of the patients that we have in our oncology unit or right across Fiji are not compromised because the work that specialists, clinical nurse may be doing overseas.
“They are still being done by our doctors here and so we have interns, we have registrars and they are level one, level two, level three then we have specialist consultants and then junior consultants.
“So there is a whole lot of layers in between that actually look after cancer patients and so some of these layers are then pushed on to the clinical nurse specialists when they get their registration but it doesn’t mean that less care is being provided.”
He reassured that care is being provided to patients.