Establish a breast cancer nurse led clinic, Close to Home

Breast Oncology Clinic is located at Berwick Healthcare in Melbourne’s outer east and provides follow up of Breast Cancer patients by Medical Oncologists.

Establishing a Nurse Led Supportive Care clinic (working together with the medical model) will provide a comprehensive specialist nursing and supportive care model to patients in this catchment area. Providing a multi-disciplinary approach to care.

Nurse led clinics provide comprehensive holistic care for patients, resulting in improved patient experience whilst easing the pressure on the Medical team. In addition, nurse led clinics provide opportunity for nurses to work to top of scope, utilising their advanced practice skills for optimal patient outcomes.

Monash Health treats the largest amount of breast cancer patients in public health care in Victoria and we have approximately 345 new diagnoses per year across all sites. A new approach in a new location will optimize timely comprehensive care for our patients.

At Moorabbin, we have a successful Nurse Led model (Oncology Supportive Care clinic weekly) and we aim to extend this high level care to provide face-to-face consultation at an additional Monash Health site a key priority of improving quality cancer care closer to home.

With the assistance of a part time project officer, the McGrath Breast Care Nurses (Clinical Leads) will develop and establish booking criteria, patient numbers, setting up templates in Health service booking system for a weekly nurse led supportive care clinic. The ongoing booking of patients would be done by existing Monash Health outpatient’s clerks.

The McGrath Breast Care Nurses will be responsible for leading a face-to-face clinic located in Berwick. A clinic manual will be established with resources and patient education materials, with the aim to produce clear ongoing supported processes to:

• Discuss and manage cancer treatment side effects
• Provide resources to manage and considerations for ongoing health and well-being (survivorship)
• Complete supportive care screening tool on patients attending clinic as needed
• Identify compliance of oral cancer therapies with the aim to better manage side effects
• Discuss emotional concerns, sadness, distress and fear of recurrence
• Provide recommendations for lifestyle changes, such as exercise for weight loss and recovery and reducing risk of cancer recurrence
• Coordinate follow up tests – identifying recurrence or complications
• Introduce Breast Screen after 5 years from breast cancer diagnosis
• Provide targeted wellbeing and support initiatives
• Help triage and avoid emergency presentations for vulnerable patients

Following establishment, the McGrath Breast Care Nurses clinic hours will be incorporated into the current working schedule and does not require any ongoing funding. The nurses will work co-located with the medical oncology clinic and processes for efficiencies in multidisciplinary care will be embedded in work practices.

The development of resources will consider the opportunity for replication of systems and processes working within the McGrath Model of Care including resource materials for other clinics for consistent standards of care and framework.