Sport Whanganui: Fit for Surgery a successful local collaboration

Christine Taylor finds the InBody Bioscan, which takes body composition measurements, a useful tool. The baseline measurement and repeat measurements enable the client and Christine to see the success of the care plan. Photo / Supplied

Living with the pain of knee or hip damage can have a significant impact on a person's life, physically and socially.

If the person needs to meet certain criteria to be fit for surgery, the journey looks like a mountain to be climbed. My role as Fit for Surgery Navigator is all about helping people to meet those criteria by developing a care plan to reach their goals for surgery and supporting them through the plan. With a plan in hand, the mountain becomes a less arduous journey and, with support, one not taken alone.

My name is Christine Taylor, I'm a registered nurse and I work for Sport Whanganui as the Fit for Surgery Navigator.

It's a role I love, not only because I have a passion for health and wellbeing, but because I get to meet courageous people every day, who do the mahi to make massive life changes. I feel very privileged to develop solutions by working alongside people and witnessing the hard work they put in to fulfil their care plan.

Dr Marco Meijer began lobbying the Whanganui District Health Board (WDHB) after identifying the need to raise awareness of the risks associated with surgery when a patient has a high BMI. It was clear there was a need for a programme to support these patients to ensure safer surgical outcomes. WDHB and Whanganui Regional Health Network worked together to develop a clinical pathway.

The project team grew to include Sport Whanganui as the community link for the programme user. Sport Whanganui proved the right fit to establish the programme, which includes weight management options, diet, exercise, behaviour therapy elements and self-management. There is also the ability to utilise existing funded programmes and services including green prescription, a dietitian, psychology and self-management programmes.

Besides developing safer surgical outcomes for people, the programme can reduce the number of elective surgeries needed. Many people find the lifestyle changes made are enough to fix the problem and choose not to have surgery. Fit for Surgery is now in its third successful year, and the programme continues to evolve to be more integrated into the community. With a collaborative approach, Fit for Surgery will be broadened to include other elective surgeries.