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. 2021 Jun 9;11:100172. doi: 10.1016/j.lanwpc.2021.100172

Table 1.

Summary timeline with key events

Date Category Description Equity actions
28-Feb First case of COVID-19 in a returned traveller
17-Mar Clinical Governance Cancer Agency COVID Agile Response Team (CACART) formed, to rapidly respond to clinical issues Worked in partnership with Māori cancer clinicians in CACART
19-Mar Border closures except to returning national citizens and residents
20-Mar New ways of delivering care Messaging to the sector to maximise remote working, remote communication to patients and social distancing to minimise chance of COVID-19 spread. Hei Āhuru Mōwai developed specific messaging for Māori patients and whānau.
20-Mar New ways of delivering care Look at ways to enhance day unit capacity when there is a therapeutically equivalent option with a view to increasing capacity to offset likely reduced capacity from staff illness/self-isolation.
22-Mar Government announces four-level alert system, NZ moved to alert level 2 and those who are immunocompromised are advised to stay homea
22-Mar New ways of delivering care Default consultations now telephone follow up, with clinicians deciding if they need to see a patient in person. Māori specific public and sector messaging developed in collaboration with Hei Āhuru Mōwai.
24-Mar Aotearoa New Zealand moves to alert level three
24-Mar Treatment guidance Messaging to the sector that new oncology patient assessment and treatment is to continue unchanged.
26-Mar Aotearoa New Zealand moves to alert level 4
27-Mar Treatment guidance Medical oncology, radiation oncology and haematology minimal intervention levels: guidance on expectations around cancer treatment service provision at different hospital alert levels developed and distributed. Worked in partnership with Hei Āhuru Mōwai to operationalise equity in guidance, including prioritisation of Māori, Pacific and vulnerable populations.
7-Apr Equity Response Draft equity response framework sent out for feedback, outlining areas where inequities arise on the cancer pathway, how inequities might be exacerbated by COVID-19 and what mitigation actions could be undertaken.
17-Apr Treatment guidance Surgical minimal intervention levels: guidance on expectations around cancer surgery service provision at each hospital alert level developed and distributed. Worked in partnership with Hei Āhuru Mōwai to operationalise equity in guidance, including prioritisation of Māori, Pacific and vulnerable populations.
17-Apr Treatment guidance Radiology minimal intervention response levels: guidance on expectations around cancer imaging service provision at each hospital alert level developed and distributed Worked in partnership with Hei Āhuru Mōwai to operationalise equity in guidance, including prioritisation of Māori, Pacific and vulnerable populations.
23-Apr New ways of delivering care Proposal sent to PHARMAC (Aotearoa New Zealand's national pharmaceutical purchasing organisation) outlining list of medications that could be used (if funded) to amend treatment regimens to be less resource intensive including modelling work to understand the impact of requests Equity analysis included in the review process.
28-Apr Aotearoa New Zealand moves to alert level 3
8-May Treatment guidance Gastrointestinal endoscopy minimal intervention levels: Guidance on expectations around endoscopy service provision at each hospital alert level developed and distributed. Worked in partnership with Hei Āhuru Mōwai to operationalise equity in guidance, including prioritisation of Māori, Pacific and vulnerable populations.
13 May Aotearoa New Zealand moves to alert level 2
28-May Monitoring and Evaluation First report on the impact of COVID-19 on cancer services at a national level distributed Māori expertise included in the monitoring team and specific equity priorities included. All metrics reported by ethnicity.
8 June Aotearoa New Zealand moves to alert level 1
Following this there were no further national lockdowns; however, two regional lockdowns occurred in Auckland in August 2020 and February 2021 due to new community cases.