Liver Transplant Team - December 2013

From the left: Margaret Johnston (Nurse Practitioner), Katrina Ames (Charge Nurse, Ward 71), Judy Huang (Liver Registrar),

Ed Gane (Hepatologist), Chris Cederwall (Liver Registrar), Kathy Oliver (Team Support), Oonagh Lithgow (Hepatoma Nurse Specialist), 

Jen Chesborough (Clinical Support Nurse), Jane Biddulph (Research Nurse), Amy Cole (obscured) (Research Nurse),

Rachael Harry (Hepatologist), Stephen Munn (Transplant Surgeon, Director of NZLTU), Ron Benjamin (Social worker),

Faye Manu (Research Nurse), Adam Bartlett (Transplant Surgeon), Barry Harrison (Transplant Coordinator),

Michelle Singh (Pharmacist), Anthony Phillips (Donor surgeon).

 Mission Statement

The liver transplant unit at Auckland Hospital came about through the diligence and foresight of a group of physicians, nurses, surgeons and administrators working towards the common goal of providing excellent transplant services to New Zealanders within their own land. The philosophy of service provision for the unit has thus grown not out of a sense of obligation, thereby being an onerous chore, rather our view is that we anticipate this duty to our fellow New Zealanders with a sense of great satisfaction. Our mission is thus the provision of excellent transplant services for sufferers of end stage liver disease in an environment where it is a pleasure for us to work and a pleasure for patients to receive treatment. 

These services will include, but will not be confined to, the following: assessment of candidacy, pre-transplantation care, liver transplantation surgery, post-transplantation care, post-dismissal care, long-term follow-up with advice regarding immunosuppression, transplant-related infectious and neoplastic complications.

Whereas our unit is unlikely to be the largest in Australasia, we would covet the hope that it will become the best, as measured by both outcomes and patient satisfaction.

Furthermore, it is our firm belief that the provision of these services is a team enterprise, with the implication that an excellent outcome can only be achieved when all the component persons in that team are properly educated and resourced. In regards to the former, we will remain committed to the ongoing education of each team member, so that we remain intellectually well-provisioned to achieve our goals. We also believe that ongoing research is integral to maintaining the services at a level comparable to those achieved internationally. It should be clear at the outset however that in attempting to achieve service provision, education and research; patient care will always have the highest priority.