Going the extra mile: Compounding to couriers

“A significant memorable moment for me was during the 2021 New South Wales floods. These floods caused road and airport closures through Port Macquarie, Taree, and Foster for multiple days. However, the even more vulnerable patients of Port Macquarie were still waiting for their treatments to arrive.”

“This problem required some outside-the-box thinking! Although the airport was closed, the Coffs Harbour Airport was still open. However, all roads down from Coffs Harbour were blocked. We made a call to the State Emergency Service (SES) in New South Wales and explained our predicament. The solution was to have Port Macquarie’s orders flown into Coffs Harbour, where the SES would collect them from the airport and fly them in via helicopter due to deteriorating weather conditions.”

“This had a big impact on me as even the SES, who were extremely busy during this time, lent us their resources and worked hard to ensure patients received their treatments as scheduled. As we live the cancer conversation every day it is important to take a step back and recognise the Group-wide efforts behind a patient simply “receiving treatment” and realise how vital our roles are.”