AWARDS FINALIST: Contact – Skin health programme saving lives
Contact Energy's skin health programme is saving lives making a difference in the way its employees approach skin-cancer prevention.
Originally focused on outdoor workers, the programme expanded in 2022 to include all 1200 staff members after a routine check revealed an office worker’s melanoma, highlighting the risk everyone faced, regardless of where they worked.
New Zealand has the highest melanoma mortality rate globally. Working with Chelsea Langham, director of Skin Aware and a clinical nurse specialist in skin cancer, Contact implemented a comprehensive skin health initiative, offering free skin checks to all employees.
Organisation-wide programme
Contact’s people said that getting a skin health check was costly, difficult to organise and easy to forget about. Building on its existing relationship with Skin Aware, Contact approached the company to discuss the delivery of an organisation-wide programme.
The programme, delivered through Contact’s health & safety team, includes:
- educational presentations sitewide
- a universal online booking system for screening clinics
- access to the Molescope App, including file images and the use of telehealth
- educational material developed jointly by Contact and Skin Aware
- Skin Aware supporting people through the diagnosis, referral, treatment, and recovery phases
A programme co-ordinator and site administrators work alongside Skin Aware to ensure the system works seamlessly.
So far, it is likely to have saved six lives through the early detection of melanomas, with the youngest person being diagnosed at 27.
Clinics
In 2023, Contact held 13 skin check clinics across its sites, with 573 people screened.
As a result, 36 skin cancers were discovered, including five early melanomas.
Throughout the year, 113 referrals were made for suspicious lesions or further clinical assessment.
When a skin cancer is detected, the affected person receives support to navigate the complexities of the health system, ensuring they are seen promptly by specialists and that their whole journey through diagnosis, treatment and recovery is managed.
This removes a huge burden from people and allows them to be confident in the direction of their road to recovery.
The Molescope App shows any areas of concern that need to be kept an eye on.
People can take a picture at any time and upload it to the App, with Skin Aware able to give advice on any next steps.
Recommendations
As an organisation, the programme has highlighted how important prevention and early detection is to a health issue, and how it can have a significant impact on a workplace.
Contact has begun implementing a range of recommendations from Skin Aware, including:
- sunscreen stations positioned around sites with the UV safety message visible to all
- a review of all personal protection equipment to include sun protection
- normalising the wearing of neck protectors on hard hats
- UV identified on hazard ID forms
- online resources for people on Contact’s internal health and safety page
- a yearly lunch-and-munch chat and update with the Skin Aware team at each site
- a review of outdoor spaces for breaks to make sure shade is available
What’s next?
Contact says it is “most excited” by the possibility of being able to extend its free skin checks to its people’s whānau, and it is currently working through the logistics of how to make this happen.
It is also working with Skin Aware’s director on how to continue to increase awareness of the importance of good skin health practices. Opportunities being explored include:
- giving a free high quality sun hat to all of its people
- partnering with other organisations where it has a presence
- sponsoring local initiatives for the public
The Well-being award category is sponsored by nib.