Do you travel long distances for specialised healthcare?

If you travel more than 100km one way, or 200km in a week, for specialised treatment that is not available locally, you can claim financial assistance towards travel and accommodation costs.

The Isolated Patients Travel and Accommodation Assistance Scheme (IPTAAS) is designed to support patients from rural and regional NSW when they need it most.

People who travel to places like Sydney or Canberra for treatment can benefit from the extra assistance provided by the IPTAAS scheme.

Increased subsidies for travel and accommodation are now available for appointments or treatment. Patients attending high-risk foot clinics, non-commercial clinical trials, highly specialised publicly funded oral health clinics in NSW and ocularists are now also eligible to claim.

If your travels for specialist medical treatment have been impacted by the recent flooding situation in NSW, please contact the IPTAAS team to talk about your individual situation and how we may be able to assist you with your IPTAAS application.

To find out if you are eligible, ask your social worker or healthcare team, call 1800 478 227 or visit: www.iptaas.health.nsw.gov.au

If you are 18-75 years old and are feeling well, you may be able to give blood.

Recent reports from Lifeblood confirm an alarmingly low (3.5 per cent) number of Australians regularly donate blood, prompting the Leukaemia Foundation and Australian Red Cross Lifeblood to join forces to urge Australians to roll up their sleeves and make life-saving blood donations this World Blood Donor Day on 14th June. 

With one third of all red blood cell donations nationally going to cancer patients, the Leukaemia Foundation’s CEO Chris Tanti said increasing the number of Australians donating by a mere 1.5 per cent, will make a monumental difference to blood cancer patients across the country. 

“53 Australians are diagnosed with blood cancer every day, and this number is predicted to double by 2035. Consequently, the number of blood donations required to support blood cancer patients will also double,” explained Mr Tanti. 

“3.5 per cent of Australians donate blood, and that means there could be more than 13 million Australians who may be able to donate, but don’t. The reality is if 18 of these Australians signed up today to become a monthly blood donor, that would be enough donated blood to treat just one person diagnosed with blood cancer, so we really are relying on everyday Australians to lend the blood cancer community a helping arm as often as they can,” Mr Tanti said.

Lifeblood’s CEO, Stephen Cornelissen AM, said World Blood Donor Day provided an opportunity to raise awareness and recognise the impact blood and plasma donors have on helping save the lives of cancer patients. 

“Australia’s blood and plasma donors are unsung heroes. By donating blood and plasma, individuals have the power to make a life-saving difference for someone in need. This World Blood Donor Day please consider giving blood or plasma with the knowledge you’re providing an invaluable lifeline to the growing number of Australians living with blood cancer,” Mr Cornelissen said. 

To check if you are eligibile and book a donation call 13 14 95, visit lifeblood.com.au or download the Donate Blood App. 

The most recent Bureau of Health Information (BHI) Healthcare Quarterly report (January – March 2023) shows that hospitals across Western NSW Local Health District (WNSWLHD) continued to perform well – improving in a number of key performance measures throughout the first quarter of 2023, despite sustained high demand for hospital care. 

The District continues to work incredibly hard to ensure patients requiring planned surgery procedures receive them as soon as is possible. WNSWLHD performed 2,267 planned surgeries during the January to March 2023 quarter, with almost all urgent planned surgeries (97.6 per cent) performed on time. 

Patients who feel their condition has deteriorated while waiting for their procedure are encouraged to contact their treating doctor for a clinical review and they can be placed in a higher urgency category if required. 

There were 833 babies born during the first quarter of 2023. 

FORBES HOSPITAL 

Forbes Hospital performed well in the first quarter of 2023. There were 1,975 attendances at Forbes Hospital ED throughout the January to March 2023 quarter. 

Almost 9 in 10 patients (87.1 per cent) started their treatment on time, which is significantly better than the average for hospitals of a similar size in NSW (78.4 per cent). 

Nearly all patients (98.7 per cent) were transferred from paramedics to the ED staff within the 30- minute benchmark, which is also better than the average for comparable hospitals in NSW (93.9 per cent). 

The majority of patients (87.6 per cent) left the ED within four hours, also better than the average for hospitals of a similar size in NSW (79.3 per cent).