Friday 21 March 2025Health news3 minutes to read
Te Nīkau Hospital’s Infusion Services team provides a range of infusions to West Coast patients from a comfortable six chair (lazy boy) unit in the hospital’s outpatients department.
The infusions team is staffed by Registered Nurses Miriam Hawes and Gian Maturan who have both been with the service for two years. They each work two days a week in the unit and one day completing admin tasks such as liaising with specialists on patient care plans, triaging new referrals and arranging pre-appointment work-ups.
Registered Nurse Miriam Hawes says, “we currently have around 64 regular infusions patients and 26 venesection (phlebotomy) patients who we monitor or see regularly. There have been eight new MABs (monoclonal antibodies) patients referred to the service since the start of the year. We work closely with Christchurch-based specialist teams such as Neurology, Gastroenterology and Immunology who decide on the course of treatment for each patient and also provide us with specialist support and advice when this is required”.
“We can also access support from our Te Nīkau Hospital colleagues who are involved in the care of our patients to ensure they receive on-going care. One of the benefits of this job is that you get to know your patients really well. It’s always great to see the improvements in people’s health and to hear about how things change as treatment progresses,” says Miriam.
The types of infusion services provided include venesections for the treatment of haemochromatosis (a genetic disorder where the body stores too much iron) and polycythaemia (a condition where someone has too many red blood cells). Immunotherapy MABs are also administered for the treatment of inflammatory and autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, Crohn’s disease and multiple sclerosis (MS).
The team also administers iron infusions, zoledronic acid infusions for osteoporosis and blood products with referrals coming from GP practices as well as hospital services. These types of infusions are most commonly one-off referrals, with approximately 10 referrals per week.
Registered Nurse Gian Maturan says, “when we started in this role, we spent time in Christchurch alongside the infusions team to learn how things were done. It’s really important that we have good relationships with our Christchurch colleagues especially if we have concerns about a patient and the way they are responding to treatment”.
Over the past couple of years, there have been some service changes like adding in admin days as well as having two set infusion days each week to bolster staff capacity. This means that the team are well placed to accommodate an increase in referrals over this time. This increase is in part directly related to a change in criteria for one drug as well as increased access to some new to New Zealand funded drugs which in turn has improved access and treatment options for people needing infusions.
“We have good processes in place and the role provides an opportunity to advocate for West Coast patients when this is needed. Although there are some patients like those starting treatment for MS who may need to travel for their first couple of treatments, most infusions are started locally. As a team, it’s important to us that Coasters who need this service have access to the care they need as close to home as possible,” says Gian.
ENDS
Photo: (L to R) Registered Nurses Gian Maturan and Miriam Hawes in Te Nīkau Hospital’s Infusions Service.
Media contact: hnzmedia@tewhatuora.govt.nz
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Page last updated: 21 March 2025
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