All posts by Nick Hall

MBBS (Hons 1) PhD FRACP
Staff specialist in Medical Oncology, The Kinghorn Cancer Centre

Conjoint lecturer UNSW and Senior Lecturer, Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney

Dr Rachel Dear is a medical oncologist at The Kinghorn Cancer Centre and St Vincent’s Hospital, Darlinghurst with interests in the diagnosis and management of breast and lung cancers, and neuro-oncology.

Rachel’s employment includes a fractional appointment as a staff specialist in medical oncology, as well as part-time senior lecturer at the Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney. She participates in the on call roster for all medical oncology patients, and takes part in the undergraduate, basic physician and advanced trainee education programs.

Background

Rachel Dear was awarded MBBS (first class honours) from the University of New South Wales in 2001 and subsequently undertook junior medical officer and basic physician’s training at St Vincent’s Hospital, Darlinghurst. This was followed by advanced medical oncology training at Westmead Hospital.  From 2008-2012 she completed a PhD titled “The potential of clinical trial registries to inform cancer care in Australia” from the Sydney Medical School at the University of Sydney. During her PhD she held a NSW Cancer Institute Research Scholar Award from 2009-2012. She has worked as a medical oncologist at the Mater Hospital, North Sydney from 2012-2014, where her clinical work focused on breast cancer. In her role as Senior Lecturer at the University of Sydney, Rachel has completed a Cochrane Systematic Review looking at the role of chemotherapy in metastatic breast cancer, and she is currently conducting a study examining the control arm of randomized breast cancer trials.

Rachel has been the coordinating investigator for several investigator-initiated Australian studies from 2008-2011. She completed the Australia and Asia-Pacific Clinical Oncology Research Development (ACORD) workshop in 2010, a Cochrane protocol development workshop in 2008, and was awarded the Clinical Oncological Society of Australia (COSA) Best of the Best Primary Care and Health Sciences poster and presentation in 2011. Rachel holds a number of memberships to professional bodies including COSA, MOGA, ANZBCTG, ALTG, and PoCOG.

Contact information
Phone: +61 2 9355 5655
Fax: +61 2 9355 5602
Email: Rachel.Dear@svha.org.au

MBBS FRACS
Clinical Director, The Kinghorn Cancer Centre

Director Cancer Services, St Vincent’s Health Network Sydney
Director Head and Neck Service, St Vincent’s Health Network Sydney
Adjunct Associate Professor, University of Notre Dame, Australia

Richard is the Director of Cancer Services for the St Vincent’s Health Network, Sydney. He facilitates collaboration between researchers at the Garvan Institute and clinicians at St Vincent’s Hospital by bringing them together at The Kinghorn Cancer Centre. This maximises innovation in benchside to bedside research, ultimately delivering better outcomes for patients with cancer.

Richard is Australia’s leading transoral robotic surgeon (TORS) with a particular interest in the management of human papilloma virus (HPV) related oropharyngeal cancers.  He has worked at St Vincent’s Hospital as a Head and Neck Surgeon since 1998 and manages the care of hundreds of public and private cancer patients every year. He holds editorial positions with leading surgical journal publications and is fiercely committed to surgical education, training and mentoring.

Richard places enormous importance on the multi-disciplinary approach to patient care. He knows from firsthand experience how teamwork and collaboration can make a world of difference in the cancer patient journey.

Background

Richard is a graduate of the University of New South Wales and a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. Following completion of his surgical training in Australia in 1995 he completed two fellowships; one year of Head & Neck Surgery at Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane, and one year of Sinus and Skull Base Surgery at The University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA. He returned to Australia to commence his appointment at St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney, where he established an annual Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgery Course, as well as the St Vincent’s Hospital Indigenous Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery Outreach Clinic at Pius X Aboriginal Corporation, Moree. In 2011 Richard trained in the United States in transoral robotic surgery (TORS) and introduced the technique to St Vincent’s and New South Wales. He is the Chair of the Board of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and is also an Examiner for the College. Richard holds editorial positions with the Australian New Zealand Journal of Surgery and the Australian supplement of The Journal of Laryngology & Otology, and is an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Notre Dame, Australia. He is a Visiting Medical Officer at St Vincent’s Hospital and is active across the campus on a number of committees. Richard’s private practice is located at St Vincent’s Clinic where he specialises in benign and malignant head and neck surgery.

Appointments

Chair, Board of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons

Examiner, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons

Specialty Editor, Australian New Zealand Journal of Surgery

Editorial Board, Australian Supplement of the Journal of Laryngology and Otology

Agency for Clinical Innovation Tracheostomy Care Guideline Implementation Steering Committee

BSc (Hons) Biochemistry, MSc Human Nutrition, Graduate Certificate Genetic Counselling
Genetic Counsellor

Louise works alongside Professor Allan Spigelman, Consultant at St Vincent’s Hereditary Cancer Clinic. They work with patients and family members to assess the chance of there being an inherited predisposition to cancer in the family. Together they compose an extensive family tree, which is used to assess this risk.

Some families are then offered genetic testing with discussions around what this information will mean for themselves and their family members. The Clinic aims to find the particular genetic cause of cancer in each family. If this is found, unaffected family members can then be offered genetic testing to find out if they have inherited an increased risk of cancer. If so advice is offered on evidence based personalised strategies to reduce this risk.

The ethos of the Clinic is early detection or prevention of cancer by helping people to understand their risk of cancer and how to reduce it. The Clinic also facilitates rapid genetic testing for patients and their doctors who will use this information to make decisions about future treatments and surgeries. The team endeavours to supply a timely, high quality, equitable service and to contribute to ongoing research in the field.

The St Vincent’s Hereditary Cancer Clinic team has an interest in facilitating recruitment for anybody who is eligible and willing to participate in genetic research into their particular condition. The Clinic is also linked with the pancreatic cancer research team at the Garvan

Background

Louise trained as a genetic counsellor in Newcastle, Australia in 2002 and then worked for the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute with a team that was researching the genetics of heart muscle disease. She then took a job at Newcastle University in the UK on an international clinical trial called the CAPP2 study, combining her interests in genetics and nutrition. This was a large genetically targeted personalised study to find out if aspirin and a dietary supplement called resistant starch could reduce the incidence of bowel cancer and polyps in people that have an inherited risk. Louise also did further training and gained valuable experience as a cancer genetic counsellor in a large NHS genetics unit.

Louise holds the following memberships:
Member of the Human Genetics Society of Australia (HGSA)
Member of the Australasian Society of Genetic Counsellors
New South Wales Oncology Group Cancer Genetics Group
NSW Cancer Institute EviQ Cancer Genetics Reference Committee
Member of InSiGHT (International Society for Gastrointestinal Hereditary Tumours)

DipHE in Ault Nursing, Grad Cert in Oncology Nursing
NELUNE Nurse Unit Manager

Linzi is the Nurse Unit Manager for The NELUNE Centre, situated on the ground floor of The Kinghorn Cancer Centre. The NELUNE Centre is an outpatient treatment unit which provides high quality care for people with oncology and haematology disorders. Most of our cancer patients who receive chemotherapy are treated in the centre.

Linzi is responsible for the coordination of service provision to patients within the unit. Paramount to her practice is to ensure that both staff and patients are part of a safe and secure environment. Throughout her professional life Linzi endeavours to maintain a high standard of conduct within the unit that reflects the mission and values of The Sisters of Charity and she encourages her staff to do the same.

Linzi has been responsible for successfully leading and directing the Improved Patient and Staff Experience Project in the unit, which resulted in many positive changes to practice. Linzi is also proactive in Human Resource Management related tasks, such as identifying current and future skill mix for rostering requirements and ensuring compliance with Human Resource policies and directives to ensure the highest standards of care are maintained. Linzi has a strong interest in Human Resources and change management and has been responsible for driving change when processes were examined in preparation for the move into The Kinghorn Cancer Centre.

Background

Linzi studied nursing at The University of Leeds, England, where she gained her Diploma in Higher Education in Adult Nursing. Linzi then went on to work in Haematology and BMT as a Registered Nurse at St James University Hospital, England. In 2004, Linzi relocated to Sydney to work at St Vincent’s Hospital. Linzi completed Haematology & Haemopoietic Cell Transplantation, through distance education with The College of Nursing, in 2007. Linzi then completed her Graduate Certificate in Cancer Nursing from The College of Nursing in 2008.

Beginning her career as a Registered Nurse, Linzi went on to progress to Clinical Nurse Specialist, before being provided the opportunity to work as a Clinical Nurse Consultant in Haematology and Oncology. Since April 2011 Linzi has been the Nurse Unit Manager for The NELUNE Centre. She has worked in a number of roles within the Haematology, BMT and Oncology units, both in the United Kingdom and Australia for over 11 years.

RGN, RSCN, Diploma in Government NSW Clinical Redesign, Diploma in Project Management NSW Clinical Redesign, Diploma in Management & Industrial Relations
TKCC Building Services Manager & Cancer Systems Innovation Manager

Colette’s role as Building Services Manager & Cancer Systems Innovation Manager for The Kinghorn Cancer Centre involves the planning, coordination and implementation of the occupation of the St Vincent’s dedicated and shared spaces in the Centre. Colette works collaboratively with staff from the Garvan Institute to ensure the delivery of a high quality cancer centre.

Over the pasted 12 months she has been working on policy and procedures in the clinical setting, through patient journeys and facilitated working parties, she has process mapped current practices and established new models of care for the Centre’s clinical areas.

Background

Colette began her nursing training in Ireland and trained as a Sick Children’s Nurse, before becoming a Registered Nurse. She soon found her passion was in management and in motivating staff and producing high quality care for patients. Colette honed these skills by completing a Management and Industrial Relation Diploma at the National College of Industrial Relations, Ireland.

In 2000 Colette relocated to King Faisel Hospital in Riyad, Saudi Arabia where as a Nurse Manager she improved the quality of care for the oncology and haematology outpatients by leading a number of quality improvement projects. Two such initiatives were the establishment of a pre-assessment clinic for children requiring chemotherapy and the setting up of safe areas for sedating paediatric oncology patients requiring painful procedures.

After two and a half years in Saudi Arabia, Colette moved to Australia where she worked as Nurse Unit Manager in Sydney Children’s Hospital. Colette oversaw the relocation and setting up of two new full-service area within the hospital and established a newly refurbished unit, with minimal disruption to patients and their families.

Colette joined St Vincent’s Haematology Oncology Ambulatory Care Department in 2010 as Nurse Unit Manager. She also successfully completed the New South Wales Diploma in Project Management and Clinical Governance in 2010. She began her current role at TKCC in July 2011.