"Cancer Care communication"

I believe the medical support line during the pandemic are short staffed and overwhelmed. Based on my experience, they divert phone calls to a voicemail that is over-promising, though in reality, I found is non-functional and cancer patients will actually never receive a call back, I believe in turn increasing their stress levels.

One of the real struggles of this pandemic, in my opinion.

A parent’s diagnosis of cancer at any stage is difficult enough without the current pressures of a pandemic. I believe what increases this level of pressure is the ongoing frustration I felt trying to contact the Cancer care centre and leaving multiple messages only to have no calls returned. It seemed to me I had to make a 1 hour journey driving to the centre just to change an appointment time. If we have any questions or concerns I believe it is such a struggle to get the answers to them as we can't get through to the team as we are advised to do by our oncology team. I recall I was informed at the last visit, that they have been extremely busy. I get it. I really do get it. I feel I hear it from every medical professional. I've been hearing it for around the past year. And yes, I feel it is horrible this pressure that has been put on medical professionals, but I believe this is our new reality and rather than fall into what I feel is the abyss of this lack of responsibility and care, I wonder why it seems there isn't a solution being formulated to aid staff to overcome this hurdle.

I think, what about people suffering with horrible diseases like cancer. It seems to me they have to be put on the back burner because everyone is extremely busy. I can only think of those individuals who do not have a support system, no family or close friends. How on earth would they get answers to their questions if they couldn't even phone the Cancer Care Centre as I recall they're advised to do by their oncology team. I believe they need to find a way to commute in their condition to the Cancer Centre just for an answer to a question. I feel it is really disappointing and frustrating. To be told by the staff that as I understand it, they have been extremely busy and have diverted the phone lines to a voicemail and will eventually get back to the calls... Well I can honestly say that of the calls and messages I have made, not a single one has been returned hence the last visit that I had to physically make to the centre. I get it. I get if everyone's busy. I get if everyone is stressed. But I feel you chose to disconnect from patients at a time I believe they need you most. I question if that’s really the instruction from the NSW Ministry of Health. Cut the phones and divert to a dead voicemail giving false hope to people, as it appears to me. I believe you should be connecting with these patients who need your support more than anybody. The last thing I would do is tell any of my clients that I'm extremely busy when I am. I would just find workable solutions and get on with it. I wonder what happened to treating people like human beings, showing respect and compassion and care and where the Health Ethics Advisory Panel is in all of this. I believe they should be addressing emerging ethical issues affecting the health system.

I believe this issue is one of many issues with the Cancer Care network overall in NSW. It seems to me so much work needs to be done in this sector so patients can feel cared for. Had I not had a parent affected by this horrible disease, I would never have felt the system was so dysfunctional.

I feel disappointed in the medical system, their apparent diversion of care to an unresponsive voicemail system and their lack of finding solutions to what I believe is an obvious elephant-in-the-room flaw in the system.