Kilmore & District Hospital is to deliver supportive care screening to Day Oncology patients from December this year. The screening project is part of a Hume RICS initiative to ensure the hospital better serves the needs of patients. Formalised screening of patients for their supportive care needs is one of the goals in Victoria's Cancer Action Plan.
The hospital is working in conjunction with Mitchell Community Health Service, Lower Hume Palliative Care, a local GP, Hume RICS and a consumer representative to roll out the screening program.
Supportive care is additional to clinical treatment, and covers five areas of patient need: physical, social, psychosocial, spiritual and information. Cancer patients in the hospital catchment area regularly travel outside the region for clinical treatment. Patients from the catchment are dealing with the additional stresses of funding transport to get to their treatment, and the associated pressure on their finances, their time, their carer's time, their emotional wellbeing and the overall burden of their disease. A survey and report completed in early 2011 revealed that patients at the hospital had a limited understanding of the assistance available to them.
Formal supportive care screening is proven to improve outcomes for patients. The screening process will identify patient needs and patients will be referred onwards to the appropriate services for assessment.
A pilot of supportive care screening using a validated screening tool from Peter Mac will commence in December. The second phase of the project in early 2012 intends to bring screening out into the community through district nursing, GPs and palliative care, aiming to reach patients who are not attending Kilmore Hospital for their oncology treatment.
For further information about the project please contact Tracey Webster (Project Officer) webstert@humehealth.org.au