JUTH holds cancer multidisciplinary workshop to enhance services

Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) has organised a cancer multidisciplinary management workshop aimed at enhancing services and providing holistic care to cancer patients.

The Chief Medical Director (CMD), Dr Pokop Bupwatda, who declared the workshop open on Wednesday in Jos, said multidisciplinary approach was key to providing holistic care to patients.

He said “cancer care is an evolving and complex paradigm requiring several disciplines and expertise at various points of care.

“Evidence has shown that implementing a multidisciplinary strategy in the management of cancer is advantageous to patients, healthcare providers and the healthcare system.”

Bupwatda added that the hospital has a Tumour Board, which provides multidisciplinary platform for healthcare providers to communicate treatment plans for cancer patients.

He explained that the Tumour Board helps to improve patients’ care, treatment outcomes and ultimately, patients’ satisfaction by facilitating information exchange and regular communication among parties involved in the treatment.

The JUTH CMD further said that the institution has a population-based cancer registry which collects, stores and analyses data on patients and survivors.

He assured that resolutions at the end of the workshop would become a policy for cancer care management in the hospital.

Dr Maurice Nimark, the Head of Onology Unit in JUTH, says cancer treatment is complex and needs

multidisciplinary approach, which cannot be provided by a single specialty.

Nimark said “the workshop is timely and apt for effective management and care of cancer patients.”

Supreme news reports that the workshop had various paper presentations on care for cancer patients.