We're delighted to share this news from The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners about Wellington GP and HealthPathways Regional Group Clinical Advisor Dr Justine Lancaster, who has been awarded Distinguished Fellowship.

Ian Anderson, Streamliners CEO says:

“This award from the College is a well deserved acknowledgement of the mahi (work), knowledge and passion I’ve seen Justine bring to the many hats she wears in Aotearoa’s health system, including HealthPathways. Justine also contributes to the international HealthPathways Community as a colleague and supporter of her regional clinical advisors in Australia and the UK, as a key contributor to our clinical Content Advisory Group, and as a passionate driver of our Writing for Equity initiative. 

Also of note is that epic Friday 6th March 2020, when all the HealthPathways clinical advisors had gathered in Christchurch to plan how we could improve the pathway sharing model for the HealthPathways Community. The mood was one of trepidation and urgency as the conversation before we started was dominated by the global spread of COVID. We decided in the first five minutes of the workshop to repurpose the meeting to focus on one thing – a package of COVID advice for primary care clinicians that could be picked up by HealthPathways teams across Australasia and the UK. Justine and her clinical advisor colleagues worked throughout the Friday and the weekend to put the first package together. No-one asked or told them what to do, they just knew it was needed and did it. Little did any of us know that was just the beginning for Justine and her colleagues of a relentless two year process of iteration, chasing authorities for information, and making brave decisions in translating that information and filling in the gaps to be useful for their primary care colleagues. Ironically, that collaborative work on COVID gave a bigger boost to pathway sharing than we could have imagined, and Justine and her colleagues have extended it to great effect for many other diseases and conditions in Aotearoa and further afield. 

Congratulations and thank you Justine.”

Media Release from The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners: 
Wellington GP passionate about sharing knowledge awarded Distinguished Fellowship 

Wellington GP Dr Justine Lancaster has been awarded Distinguished Fellowship of The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners. 

Through her role as a national clinical lead for HealthPathways, a tool that provides concise information on locally agreed pathways of care for 800 clinical conditions for the general practice workforce to use at the point of patient care, Dr Lancaster has used her knowledge as a GP, and her relationships with secondary care, allied health and health system leaders to develop and maintain a network of clinical guidance that aims to support equitable health outcomes. 

A desire to share her experiences and knowledge as a specialist general practitioner and guide decisions that will positively impact on the health and safety of New Zealanders during the COVID-19 pandemic led Dr Lancaster into primary care clinical leadership roles within the Ministry of Health where she to provided leadership, clinical input, strategic advice, and a primary care perspective, into New Zealand’s COVID-19 response. 

College President Dr Samantha Murton says, “Dr Lancaster’s work throughout the pandemic ensured that primary care had a voice, and our workforce was considered throughout the planning and implementation of the COVID response and vaccination rollout in which we played a significant role in right across Aotearoa. 

“She is a constant and enthusiastic champion for general practice through her external roles and in her role of Chair of the College’s Wellington Faculty.” 

Passionately a GP, Dr Lancaster advocates strongly for health equity and for the general practice workforce through her involvement as Deputy Chair of the NZ Women in Medicine Charitable Trust (NZWIM), GPNZ Clinical Leaders group, as a foundation member of General Practitioners Aotearoa (GPA) and a mentor for Wahine Connect. 

This year, five College Fellows received Distinguished Fellowship which is awarded for outstanding service to the College or Division of Rural Hospital Medicine’s work and for making a sustained contribution to general practice, medicine, or the health and wellbeing of the community. 

Left to right: College President Dr Samantha Murton, and Distinguished Fellow Dr Justine Lancaster.
(Photo: Smoke Photography)

GP23: the Conference for General Practice was held from 21-23 July in Auckland. 

If you have any questions about this update, please contact comms@streamliners.co.nz