The PICS Regional Outreach and Shared Care Program (ROSCP)

• • Less disruption and time lost – By accessing care locally, families can reduce the frequency of trips to primary treatment centres in Melbourne. This can mean only taking hours for some common or standard appointments, treatments and procedures, rather than an entire day or even two.
  • Reduced costs – From petrol and road tolls to accommodation and unpaid time off work, financial and logistical burdens are reduced when care can be delivered as close to the home as possible.
  • Life can be more ‘normal’ – There are more opportunities to continue to go to school and work, maintain social activities and access support networks. This can be key for both patients during their formative years, and their families.
  • Coordinated care – With primary and local treatment sites working together with support by ROSCP, parents and carers know that their healthcare teams across the state are kept informed, and have less anxiety and uncertainty in the management of care.

• • Local workforce development – Clinical education provided by ROSCP upskills paediatric nurses and medical staff across the state. The knowledge and skills gained can be used outside of oncology, improving the quality of care more broadly.
  • Improved communication and coordination – Supported by ROSCP, teams across the state are kept informed and the admin burden on services is reduced. This gives them more time to focus on treating patients and supporting local families.
  • Reduced regional healthcare inequities – By increasing local service capabilities and then supporting better uptake of local services, ROSCP supports Victoria’s regional cancer centres and improves the adoption of and access to quality cancer care across the state.
  • Best-practice care improvements delivered at scale, locally – driving implementation of optimal and oncology care pathways.

Your oncologist and/or your nurse consultant will make this decision by taking into consideration:

• • your place of residence
  • your child’s diagnosis
  • treatment protocols
  • end-of-treatment surveillance/follow-up requirements.

To learn more about how to access the program, or find out whether you are eligible, please speak to your child’s treating team.

Read the ROSCP patient care pathway to learn more about the patient journey and an overview of what to expect when you are part of the program.

There are 9 regional centres in Victoria that care for children, adolescents, and young adults with cancer, located in:

• • Albury (Albury Wodonga Health)
  • Ballarat (Grampians Health)
  • Bendigo (Bendigo Health)
  • Frankston (Peninsula Health)
  • Geelong (Barwon Health)
  • Shepparton (Goulburn Valley Health)
  • Traralgon (Latrobe Regional Health)
  • Wangaratta (Northeast Health)
  • Warrnambool (South West Healthcare).

Each centre offers different levels of shared care services across their catchment area.

Each centre offers different levels of shared care services for paediatric oncology patients in their catchment area. Services can include some or all of:

• • low-complexity chemotherapy
  • fever neutropenia care
  • blood product support
  • central line care
  • nasogastric tube care
  • pathology collection
  • vaccinations
  • management of chicken pox exposure
  • local telehealth-assisted reviews with a paediatric oncologist and local paediatrician.

Outreach clinics take place at some regional centres throughout the year. These are run by one of the treating oncologists and oncology nurse consultants.

Centres may also provide broader supportive care services, such as in the management of acute pain, acute nausea and vomiting, or mucositis.

For more details, read the ROSCP brochure for patients, families, and carers, or speak to your child’s treating team.

Regional families often need to travel long distances to attend appointments over several years. Telehealth appointments may be available for families living in regional areas or interstate, whose children are medically suitable. This is a video link between the RCH or MCH oncologist, the patient and parent/carer, and the patient’s GP or paediatrician.

To find out whether you are eligible, please speak to your child’s treating team.