Oral Presentation Clinical Oncology Society of Australia Annual Scientific Meeting 2019

Contemporary cancer care coordination: Better rural patient outcomes  (#91)

Peggy Briggs 1
  1. WA Country Health Service, Gosnells, WA, Australia

Western Australia Country Health Service (WACHS) comprises seven regions with five of them having a Regional Cancer Centre (RCC).  RCC’s provide a comprehensive range of treatments close to home, however country people still need to travel to Perth to access complex and specialised cancer diagnostic and/or treatment services. The tyranny of vast distances WA people have to travel add to the complexity of ensuring they get the right treatment, in the right place, at the right time. Country people have an increased risk of falling through the gaps and get lost navigating the large and fragmented tertiary health systems. The Rural Cancer Nurse Coordinator bridges these gaps by being an available point of contact that facilitates timely and appropriate access to care for cancer patients across WA. Case studies describe how Cancer Care Coordination supports rural people in WA access equitable, evidence based cancer care as close to home as possible.