The Mobile Clinic Van will deliver enhanced sexual health, hepatology and harm reduction services to people right across Western NSW.
Minister for Regional Health Bronnie Taylor said the new service is bringing high quality care to people who may otherwise not access testing and treatment.
“This highly-equipped van is taking the clinic straight to communities, providing people at risk of hepatitis C with testing and treatment in a quick and convenient way,” Mrs Taylor said.
“The mobile clinic will also be used for Liver Health Blitz days and outreach events, where screening assessments including Fibroscans and treatment initiation can be done on location and on the same day.
“Mobile COVID-19 vaccination and BreastScreen clinics have already proven to be a functional and convenient resource for communities across Western NSW. I am so pleased to see this model of mobile care expanding to service our regions in new ways”.
Western NSW Local Health District (WNSWLHD) Nurse Practitioner Katherine McQuillan said the new service will make stops right across Western NSW this year, focusing on high risk communities with barriers to accessing other services.
“The van will be here in Dubbo for the next for the rest of the month, then we’re off to Collarenebri and Walgett IN March” Ms McQuillan said.
“This Mobile Clinic Van is bringing us one step closer to achieving NSW Health’s Hepatitis C Strategy goal, which aims to eliminate Hep C by 2028.”
Bookings can be made through an agency or health service to have the mobile clinic visit your community. Once at the site, the clinic operates on a walk-in basis.
For more information or to book a screening event in your community, contact WNSWLHD Nurse Practitioner Hepatology on (02) 6330 5866 or 0407 523 838.
This service has been made possible through the collaboration of a range of partner organisations including statewide NGOs and Aboriginal Community services to reach people living across the WNSWLHD, through peer-driven support programs.