Breast Cancer Patients Still Being
Dropped From Waiting Lists
Media
Release
9 June
2006
Breast
Cancer Network (NZ) Inc.
Women
with breast cancer who, at the time of their mastectomy, are promised
subsequent breast reconstruction are now being ignored by a health system
that can't deliver on that promise.
Breast
Cancer patients from around the country who are waiting for breast
reconstructions are being dropped from surgery waiting lists, and left in
limbo with their treatment uncompleted. This problem was first brought to
BCN's attention in December 2005 and the problem has clearly got worse
since then.
BCN
investigated this issue over a period of several months, and followed one
patient in particular, Maggie Pimm, who has been waiting for a breast
reconstruction since August 2005 when she was told she would get her surgery
in September of that year.
Not
all women can have immediate reconstructions because of the follow-up
treatment they must have, and these women are being denied the opportunity
to put their breast cancer in the past by virtue of the treatment regimen
recommended at diagnosis.
Although
the Ministry of Health advised BCN that the prioritising of surgery and the
allocation of resources is not a national policy issue but is delegated to
the individual district health boards to manage, it is simply not good
enough for the MoH to blame the DHBs for the waiting lists when the funding
comes ultimately from the government. And while the "buck" is passed
back and forth, women awaiting breast reconstruction fall to the bottom of
the priority list.
'That women
are not getting their surgery is an appalling situation; there is ample
research that for many women having reconstructive surgery is part of the
healing process and will enhance her return to a productive and fulfilling
life and restore her self esteem," says Barbara Mason, BCN's
Chairperson.
"Reconstruction,
for women who want it, is a vital, integral part of both their physical and
mental recovery," Dr John McEwan, a health psychology specialist who has
worked with over one thousand breast cancer patients, told BCN last year.
In
addition, Dr McEwan says that the impact of stress on the immune system is
well-documented and this has implications for women's recovery from breast
cancer. Thus reconstruction is not merely cosmetic but therapeutic.
The
women waiting for breast reconstructions are justifiably angry and believe
that the Government is disingenuous in their claims that the surgery waiting
lists are shorter when in fact, like many other patients, these women are
not receiving surgery but are instead being dropped off the waiting list.
"The
Ministry of Health must ensure surgery for delayed breast reconstruction is
available in the public health system," says BCN.
And the
latest for Maggie Pimm is that she now has a July appointment with the
Manukau Super Clinic, but still no date and no guarantee of surgery.
June
2005
For
Netpointers New Zealand
All
of Kerry Woods' customers have computers. After all, he is the CEO of
Quicken and Quicken sells software. It makes perfect sense for Quicken to
market their products on the internet, and it makes as much sense that they
wanted to maximise their web presence. So Kerry turned to Netpointers to do
just that.
Quicken is an
increasingly online-driven company with online functionality, downloads and
online back-ups; their greatest trial demand and greatest information demand
comes through their website. "It seemed logical to me to optimise the
website and improve the traffic," says Kerry.
Kerry
considered two or three companies offering search engine optimisation before
deciding on Netpointers. Without a doubt it was Netpointers' success with
other companies that appealed to him. "They can prove through their other
clients that they are successful beyond what any other provider can claim. All
companies claim that they can do wondrous things, but you only have to do a
search on Google to see that Netpointers really do what they claim," Kerry
explains.
And speaking
of Google, the results that Netpointers have achieved for Quicken on that
search engine are pretty impressive. Sixty-seven of their seventy-five
keywords rank in the top ten on Google.
Kerry says
that prior to search engine optimisation "we would have been lucky to be in
the top forty or fifty for most of our key search words - page four or page
five." With rankings like that your website juts doesn't get a "look
in" with people searching for your products on the web.
Yet, two
months after Netpointers implemented their internet marketing solution
Webpromotion Pro, all 75 of Quicken’s key words have top rankings. The
number of keywords getting a top five ranking has improved 360% and visibility
has improved by 316%.
A stunning
improvement in rankings is all very well, but it is only worthwhile if it
actually translates into increased web traffic, and ultimately to sales. In
Quicken's case the translation has been just as stunning as the improvement
in rankings. "There has been a tripling in requests for trials and requests
for information," says Kerry. He went on to say that there has definitely
been an increase in click-through traffic to the website and product inquiries
have gone up by in excess of 200 percent.
"The good
thing is that the quality of inquiries has changed as well. We are getting a
higher quality of inquiry, people wanting specific information." Clearly
Netpointers have successfully aimed the keywords and optimisation at the
sector most interested in the business software that Quicken markets. Asked if
it has it resulted in more business, Kerry answers emphatically, "Yes, it
has. It undoubtedly has!" In fact, there has been a 2.7 times dollar
increase in sales attributable to the website over only three months.
Kerry says
working with Netpointers was easy, the Netpointers Account Manager that they
dealt with was outstanding, and their documentation is good. Like other
Netpointers clients, he points out that it is a significant investment, but it
has great returns. He compares the cost to print advertising in specific media
- for example, four full pages in the magazine PC World - but unlike print
media the results are very easy to see and measure. Kerry also points out that
there are limits on how much you can say in print advertisements and radio
commercials, but once you get people to your website the sky's the limit.
Although the improvement in sales is impressive, Kerry isn't all that
surprised. He says his products sell themselves and his brief to Netpointers
was 'get the people to the website'. Which they have done. Very, very
well.
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April
2005
For
Netpointers New Zealand
Getting
a Return on the Netpointers SEO Investment
Netpointers'
search engine optimisation internet marketing campaign has resulted in a
greater than 1000% improvement in keyword hits which has translated to a 25%
increase in subscriptions over six months for etendering business, TenderLink.
It is always
a challenge for an internet business to maintain or improve visibility on the
web and to acquire new customers. TenderLink made the transition from a "paper" based system to the internet back in 1998 as one of the first
e-tendering systems in the world. While their longevity as an e-business alone
has been an indicator of success, business has increased substantially since
they invested in Netpointers search engine optimisation in September 2004.
"TenderLink's
business is conducive to having very good online marketing strategies; we're
a subscription based service and consequently people are looking for our type
of services when they go onto the internet," says TenderLink CEO Philip
Brown. Previously their strategy was very simple and revolved around two
keywords. However, Netpointers spent some time analysing the keywords that
TenderLink should be using and created an extensive list of 50 keywords and
key-phrases which all bring traffic to their website.
A quick scan
of the figures reveals that keyword efficiency, that is, the proportion of
keywords with top rankings on the search engines, has gone from 44% to 100%
over six months. The number of keywords in the top five rankings has increased
by a staggering 1290%, and TenderLink is consistently getting top rankings on
25 out of 30 targeted search engines, including the much-lauded and popular
search engine Google.
Philip
measures the success of Netpointers' approach by the increase in the number
of external subscriptions to TenderLink; those subscriptions obtained not
through direct marketing to the client, but by the client coming to them. Not
only has search engine optimisation improved TenderLinks's visibility (by
1241%), rankings and keyword efficiency, those improvements have translated
into a 25% increase in external subscriptions.
One benefit
of SEO is that the visitors to TenderLink's website are those people
particularly interested in TenderLink's services; Netpointers internet
marketing solution Webpromotion Pro has targeted the keywords to a specific
audience both geographically and in terms of the services TenderLink offers,
and Netpointers efforts are introducing that audience to www.TenderLink.com.
For
TenderLink it is not just about getting people to their home page from an
internet search. Philip believes it is also important to get people onto their
other pages. "It's about getting our business, and what we do in terms of
the services we provide, linked in to search phrases from a number of our
other pages that wouldn't have been visited before." He says that is where
TenderLink has had the most success with Webpromotion Pro, and it has resulted
in increased brand awareness.
Philip
emphasises that the process and success "takes a little time and you have to
be patient."
"You need
to give Netpointers sufficient time, and I would say that that time-frame for
us has between three and six months before we really started to see the
benefit of it," he says.
He is also
impressed with Netpointers guidance and professionalism. They really
investigate what needs to be done and they are always extremely
results-oriented. "There are a number of things that have to happen in the
process and Netpointers go about it very professionally," he says.
In terms of getting a return on their investment in Netpointers search engine
optimisation, TenderLink has seen a substantial increase in business, are more
than happy with the financial gains achieved to date and look forward to a
continued relationship with Netpointers.
June
2004
For
Netpointers New Zealand
Netpointers
SEO -
a non-surgical facelift for your website
Plastic
surgeon, Dr John Masters, was so impressed with Netpointers that he has
continued their business relationship into its second year.
Over a year
ago Dr John Masters looked at the various search engine optimisation options
available to him. He liked the Netpointers system and is heading into his
second year with them. Initially Netpointers' SEO appealed to him because it
didn't involve rebuilding his new website but rather worked alongside it.
"What
impressed me most, leaving aside the results, was that Netpointers gave me a
timetable of what was going to happen and actually met every one of the
deadlines," John says. "We had a company that said "we're going to do
this on this date… this on that date…" and that's exactly what
happened!"
John's
website is a key portal for communicating with potential clients. Many people
like to research their plastic surgery options from the privacy of their own
home. Additionally, John's practice, Plastic Surgical Masters, has an
international clientele and ensuring his website's visibility with the
search engines is a crucial component in the success of his business.
Netpointers went away and put together a list of keyword phrases for the
website. Their skill in developing a list of keywords, for what is quite a
specialised field, has paid off with all of the keywords producing first page
hits on the search engines.
The impact of
the SEO on Plastic Surgical Masters' top rankings was seen within a month,
with top-thirty rankings climbing from 150 to 490. A year later the total
top-thirty rankings for all keywords across 29 search engines has climbed to
1235. A huge 73% of the rankings (902) are in the top five positions.
What has this
improvement in their search engine rankings meant for John and his plastic
surgery practice? In the few months before Netpointers worked on the SEO John
had virtually no website generated enquiries. Plastic Surgical Masters was all
but invisible to the search engines, and therefore to potential clients. After
search engine optimisation there was a big jump in email inquiries, proof that
the improved rankings were bringing people to the website
Two months
ago Plastic Surgical Masters changed their web address to www.thedoc.co.nz
and there has been no drop-off in the hits on Google despite the change.
"There was essentially no down-time," says John, a real bonus and further
evidence of the success of Netpointers' system.
Many plastic
surgery clients prefer discretion, and there is an increasing trend to undergo
such procedures while on holiday, allowing people to return to their homes and
jobs looking and feeling refreshed. Thanks to Netpointers SEO, potential
international clients have no trouble finding Dr John Masters from anywhere in
the world from the comfort of their own homes.
As a small
business Plastic Surgical Masters carefully monitor expenditure, and John says
the investment in Netpointers SEO technology has been very worthwhile. They
have a dynamic website and John regularly changes the webpages - with no
constraints imposed by the SEO technology! SEO with Netpointers was stressfree,
efficient and very, very effective - a perfect working relationship.
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May
2004
For
Netpointers New Zealand
Are
you Waving in The Dark?
Are
you waving in the dark? Can Google find you? Greentree International used
Netpointers to turn the light on for their website.
Many companies rely on
their website to inform people of their services and the internet is an
increasingly important business tool. But it doesn't matter how good your
product or service is, or how amazing or innovative your website, if you
can't be found - if you are waving your wares around in the dark!
It is crucial
to the success of many businesses that their websites appear high up in the
list of results on Google and other top search engines. Let's face it, there
is so much competition out there that some people searching the net don't go
past the first page of results. For many websites and businesses, being on
that first page is the difference between profit and obscurity. So how do you
ensure that your website hits that crucial first page?
Netpointers,
with it's powerful range of search engine optimisation technology, was the
answer for Greentree International.
Greentree
International is an Australasian business software company that recently
contracted Netpointers to optimise their website. Search engine optimisation (SEO)
is about making your website visible to search engines. This means that if a
net user is looking for your type of business and plugs relevant search terms
into a search engine like Google, your company will come out with a top
ranking - ideally at the number one spot in the results. For a technology
based company like Greentree it is very important to have top rankings in
Google and other major search engines.
Greentree's
search engine visibility has improved dramatically since Netpointers optimised
their website. A huge 97% of Greentree's keywords get them a top ten ranking
on Google and in just four months Greentree's newly optimised website has
gone from zero to 519 in the top thirty placements across 16 search engines.
Importantly,
Greentree's
Marketing Co-ordinator Donna
Anderson-Jones,
says the improvement in keyword rankings has translated into a 20% increase in
email inquiries over a four month period that took in Christmas and New Year
period, traditionally a time when things are a bit quiet. Ms Anderson-Jones
said that "very, very quickly after starting with Netpointers there was a
difference in our rankings. Almost straight away, much sooner than even
Netpointers had expected."
Ms
Anderson-Jones loves the Netpointers SEO service because everything is done
for her. She can maintain and update the website without interfering with the
SEO, which is a huge advantage over many SEO systems. In addition, it is easy
to analyse the effectiveness of individual keywords or phrases.
In
fact, Greentree are so pleased with the results so far that they are about to
extend the Netpointers service to include tracking the number of the click
throughs from search results to the Greentree website. However, the increase
in email traffic clearly demonstrates that Netpointers' optimisation
solutions have led to increased visibility and more visitors to the Greentree
website.
