BreastScreen WA’s 'Mobile in the Suburbs' project took home the Department of Health Award for Best Practice in Health and Wellbeing at the Institute of Public Administration WA 2019 Achievement Awards on Friday 28 June.
The 'Mobile in the Suburbs' program was trialled in 2017/18 as an innovation to bring the service to women in their communities and workplaces. Its aim was to address concerns in access, participation, rescreen rates and recruitment of new women.
BreastScreen WA (BSWA) initiated the 'Mobile in the Suburbs' project in 2017-18 to address two areas of access and participation with the main objectives of:
- screening of lapsed clients who have not screened for several years
- screening of busy women who may not otherwise find time to make their appointment.
The suburbs with the lowest participation were identified and Local Government Authorities that included these suburbs were approached to host the mobile on appropriate sites.
The project was successful at recruiting women who were lapsed attenders with nearly 50% of attendees overdue for their screening mammogram.
Sites visited included Butler, Booragoon, Claremont, Cottesloe, King Edward Memorial Hospital, QEII Medical Centre, and numerous others.
Many women attending the QEII Medical Centre mobile (60%) were not resident in the area, likely staff members of Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Perth Children's Hospital and surrounding businesses.
Due to the success of this pilot project, the 'Mobile in the Suburbs' continues in 2019 with the following upcoming visits scheduled in Breast Cancer Awareness month:
- King Edward Memorial Hospital 1-4 October
- QEII 7-11 October
- Parliament House 14-17 October.
More locations will be added in due course and the mobile will return to most sites on a two-yearly basis.
From left: Cynthia Leal, Lorraine Knott, Angela Hellewell, Jan Pickering, Susan McDonald, Gail Fielding, Coby Pearson and Rose Bryant.