Dr Francesca Paterson and Dr Luke Watson
PA Hospital’s Plastics team help patients who are undergoing treatment for head and neck cancer, and are always looking for new ways of working to provide the best possible care.
“Queensland has one of the highest skin cancer rates in the world,” said Dr Francesca Paterson.
“We usually have a large number of patients waiting to be seen in our clinics and booked for surgery.
“It takes a lot of coordination from a big team of people to manage the patient's journey from referral through to surgery and ultimately discharge back into the care of their GP.”
The team is made up of experienced staff in both the inpatient and outpatient departments, who have come together to implement new models of care.
There’s been a big focus on collaboration to streamline work, resulting in more nurse-led consults and reduced long wait outpatient lists.
“Sharing the workload between nursing and medical staff has greatly improved patient flow through our unit, using the existing knowledge and experience of our staff,” said Dr Paterson.
Staff say the success of the nursing models of care wouldn’t have been possible without the amazing support, availability, and engagement of the Plastic Surgeons.
The efforts of the entire team, led by Dr Jay Wiper, were recently recognised at the PA Hospital’s Staff Awards.
“The Plastics Team at PA Hospital are a very hardworking group, and we are used to working with different teams from all over the hospital to achieve good outcomes for our patients,” said Dr Paterson.
“Being able to collaborate and think innovatively about a problem is one of the most important aspects of Plastic Surgery, and as a team we try to bring this approach into our work every day!”
Congratulations to everyone in Plastics, thank you for your courage and compassion.