Refurbished Chemotherapy Day Stay has the ‘wow’ factor

6 September 2013

Refurbished Chemotherapy Day Stay has the ‘wow’ factor

Wendy Hickey has been a regular at Waikato Hospital's Chemotherapy Day Stay for four years but the clinic she walked into on Monday was a vast improvement on the one she's been used to attending.

The Te Kauwhata woman was full of praise for the $250,000 makeover of the Lomas Building Day Stay clinic in 14 weeks, overseen by Waikato District Health Board's property and infrastructure staff.

“When I walked in, I thought ‘wow’, this is really nice,” she said.

“It’s lovely, it’s very clean, and it’s nice to have curtains – every area can be curtained off. It’s good having the waiting area and the reception area so when you come you have somewhere to go, and the reception lady is there to greet you.”

The clinic has been temporarily operating out of the old Ryburn Buildings while the renovations took place.

Patients and their support people now have a more comfortable and relaxed area with more room to move between the 17 bed and chair spaces, as well as a separate treatment room. The space features energy efficient smart lighting which automatically dims when the outside light is sufficient.

“I think other patients will find it as nice as you can find coming to a hospital. I don’t think they should have any complaints at all. It’s all set up, and every area has got its own stand and all those kind of things. It’s really nice,” said Wendy.

Chief operating officer Jan Adams said the refurbished area was a great improvement.

"On speaking with staff, they are really pleased with it. It is very light and airy, and we hope our patients are more comfortable when receiving treatment because the area is much less cramped than they would have experienced previously.

"I'm very pleased we were able to update the day stay area, it is important to us that patients have access to good facilities and especially when spending long periods having chemotherapy," said Mrs Adams.

Charge nurse manager Gabby Reynolds is very happy with the developments. “I think it’s a huge improvement on what we previously had. It’s a better, more user-friendly environment for patients and staff,” he said.

Chemotherapy Day Stay has up to seven registered nurses who treat 30-40 outpatients every day. These patients come from Waikato DHB and the four other district health boards in the Midland region - Bay of Plenty, Taranaki, Tairawhiti and Lakes - if they are having complex treatments or combined chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment.

Chemotherapy Day Stay administers chemotherapy and/or targeted therapies that attack specific cancer cells with the aim of killing these cells. Patients undergo this treatment in weekly, fortnightly or three weekly cycles, or in other combinations.

About Waikato District Health Board and Health Waikato:
Waikato DHB is responsible for planning, funding and providing quality health and disability support services for the 373,220 people living in the Waikato DHB region. It has an annual turnover of $1.2 billion and employs more than 6450 people.

Health Waikato is the DHB’s main provider of hospital and health services. It has six groups across five hospital sites, three primary birthing units, two continuing care facilities and 20 community bases offering a comprehensive range of primary, secondary and tertiary health services.

A wide range of independent providers deliver other Waikato DHB-funded health services - including primary health, pharmacies and community laboratories.

www.waikatodhb.health.nz

ENDS

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