Bass Coast Health’s Clinical Trials Governance Officer, Lyn Corrigan, joined five other Gippsland health services recently to discuss how they can now be delivering clinical trials together to further reduce travel for the many patients who still miss out.
Hosted by TrialHub, based at Alfred Health, the purpose of the event was to share opportunities for future research and clinical trial activity across Gippsland based on existing and emerging expertise.
The Federal Government’s TrialHub pilot program started almost four years ago as a metro-to-regional hospital partnership model to support the establishment of sustainable clinical trial units in regional, rural and outer metro hospitals.
Bass Coast Health (BCH) was selected as one of six Victorian health services to participate in the Australian-first program.
Clinical trials can give patients access to the latest treatments or interventions, but regional and rural patients often miss out because, historically, trials have only been available at a city hospital. That has since changed in Gippsland with the opening of clinical trials at BCH and Latrobe Regional Health.
Lyn presented the challenges and successes of setting up BCH’s inaugural clinical trial unit so far and what is coming over the next few years.
BCH joins Latrobe Regional Health as the only two health services currently delivering clinical trials, however, it’s still a long drive to these health services for many Gippsland patients.
Anne Woollett, director of TrialHub said, “While small health services recognise they cannot provide a full suite of trials and trial services on their own, when working together, the opportunities are so much greater.”
BCH, Gippsland Southern Health Service, West Gippsland Healthcare Group, Central Gippsland Health and Bairnsdale Regional Health Service shared their current capabilities and what they’d like to be able to offer their patients to help reduce travel and mental burden when on a clinical trial.
There was unanimous agreement in the room that clinical trials are vital to patient care and the group left committed to moving forward with increasing access for the entire region.
Gippsland clinical trial ambassador Nick Johnson gave the group a great personal insight into being on a clinical trial.
Lyn will now join a soon-to-be-formed Gippsland clinical trials working group to move the conversations forward.