20 years of WCMICS, reflections from our longest-serving program office team member

Michael Barton is our longest-serving program office team member, having joined WCMICS in 2011.  Here he shares his reflections on the progress of WCMICS as we celebrate 20 years of better cancer care.

In my 14 years with WCMICS there have been some major changes in our health services, the wider health system, and of course the world in general. Our office has moved across five different locations around the city, our host agency relocated to a purpose-built new HQ, and there have been major construction projects across all our member health services.

During this time, I have worked with 45 different members of the WCMICS team.  They have been a fertile bunch, with an average of 1.29 office babies born per year!  This productivity extended to the WCMICS work program, where the team have supported hundreds of service improvement projects.

Factors such as Peter Mac’s move to Parkville, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the statewide goals of the Victorian Cancer Plans have all pushed health services to collaborate, but the ability of WCMICS to bring people together through project work and sharing of ideas has also been a key contributor.

Another big area of progress I have noticed, and that WCMICS can take at least some credit for, is the normalisation of consumer engagement.  Since I started we have strived to bring more patient and carer voices into all aspects of our work.  Initially the idea of having consumers as partners in project groups was an alien concept for many clinicians, and the consumer engagement section of project documentation was far from ideal.  Through various mechanisms we have brought more consumer representation into our projects, and this has become second nature to our health service partners.  Most proposals received from health services already have some consumer input and have their own patients and carers identified to be part of the project.

Over the years I must have interacted with thousands of consumers, clinicians, executives, and other health service staff.  Their commitment to improving patient outcomes experiences is a constant inspiration, and I look forward to working with new and old faces into the future.