VICS Optimal Care Summits colorectal cancer consultation 2014
The first consultation in the VICS Optimal Care Summits program (originally called the Victorian Tumour Summits) focused on colorectal cancer.
The live summit event in September 2014 attracted more than 60 participants. Following the summit, the expert advisory group (below) made the following recommendations to the VICS and our member health services.
Recommendations
- Measure the proportion of rectal cancer patients (actively treated) who have multidisciplinary treatment planning, with a target of more than 95%
- Promote consistent standards and effectiveness of multidisciplinary teams and meetings
- Develop routine reporting (by region and health service) of the number of nodes examined during major colorectal cancer surgery
- Consider reporting on the proportion of Stage III colon cancer receiving adjuvant chemotherapy
- Undertake further work to identify stage at diagnosis from linked Victorian Cancer Registry – Victorian Admitted Episode Dataset (VAED)
- Provide information regarding methodology for identifying emergency presentations leading to major colorectal cancer surgery
- Call for collaboration to improve information about diagnostic colonoscopy wait times and participation in the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP)
- Raise awareness of National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) colonoscopy guidelines.
At the repeat colorectal cancer summit in 2018, the Department of Health noted that all 8 of these recommendations had been successfully implemented.
Summit records
Expert advisory group
- A/Prof. Paul Mitchell (Chair) – Medical oncologist, Austin Health
- Ms Karen Barclay – Surgeon, Northern Health
- Ms Jo Campbell – Stomal treatment, Melbourne Health
- Mr David Dalton – Surgeon, Shepparton
- Mr Ian Faragher – Surgeon, Western Health
- Dr Peter Gibbs – Medical Oncologist, Melbourne Health
- Mr Brian Hodgkins – Surgeon, Monash Health
- A/Prof. Paul McMurrick – Colorectal surgeon, Cabrini Health
- Dr John Rees – Pathologist, Monash Health
- Dr Heinrich Schwalb – Surgeon, Albury
- Mr Bruce Stewart – Surgeon, Ballarat
- Dr Jennifer Tan – Radiation Oncologist, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre
- Dr Zee Wan Wong – Medical Oncologist, Shepparton.