Nurse-led colposcopy outreach clinic in Orange

(18/9/2013)

A ground-breaking nurse-run colposcopy clinic at Orange Aboriginal Medical Service (AMS) is becoming firmly established with 72 patient consultations in its first year of operation.

The incidence of cervical cancer and deaths from the disease in Aboriginal women is significantly higher than that for non-Indigenous women. This fact was the driving force behind the development of a nurse-led colposcopy clinic at the Orange AMS. Previous attempts to get the clinic up and running had been unsuccessful and many local Aboriginal women were traveling to Westmead Hospital in Sydney for their colposcopy procedures to be undertaken by a gynaecologist.

The NSW Rural Doctors Network (RDN) pursued the idea of a nurse-run clinic and this has led to a successful partnership between RDN, Orange AMS, the Western Local Health District and the Royal Hospital for Women, that has seen nurse practitioner, Leonie Parker, trained to perform colposcopies.

Leonie's skill and dedication has seen the clinic take off in leaps and bounds since opening in July 2012, and early evaluations indicate very satisfied patients with excellent outcomes. The clinic undertook 72 patient consultations in 2012-13, with 65% of those patients new to the clinic.

RDN will conduct a more formal evaluation as patient numbers continue to grow, and it is anticipated that the clinic will serve as a model for colposcopy services elsewhere in rural NSW.

Funding for the service is provided by the NSW Office for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health (OATSIH) through the Indigenous Specialists Outreach Assistance Program.

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