PAGE 20
VCS FOUNDATION STRATEGIC PLAN 2020-2025
ONE SUPPORT VICTORIA’S EFFORTS TO ELIMINATE CERVICAL CANCER AS A PUBLIC HEALTH PROBLEM, IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE VICTORIAN CANCER PLAN 2020-2024 VCS Foundation is a valued strategic partner to the Victorian Department of Health and delivers on immunisation functions and key initiatives under the Victorian Cancer Screening Framework. We provide leadership and expertise in cancer prevention and screening, including driving the elimination of cervical cancer; a key priority of the Victorian Cancer Plan 2020-2024.
VICTORIA’S CANCER SCREENING PRIMARY CARE AND WORKFORCE STRATEGY 2019-2022 The Liaison Physician team is supporting the Victorian Government’s Cancer Screening Primary Care and Workforce Strategy 2019-2022 by providing education and training sessions on the three cancer screening programs, cervical, breast and bowel. Face to face sessions were deferred due to the pandemic but have been replaced with webinar sessions. Live sessions of the VCS Foundation Cancer Screening Clinical Education, co-presented with Cancer Council Victoria and St Vincent’s Hospital
Beautiful Shawl breast screening initiative
Melbourne were delivered to the North-West Melbourne and Eastern Melbourne Public Health Networks. Those unable to attend could participate by requesting a recording and could still gain their CPD points. VCS Foundation has been working closely with the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (VACCHO) to offer cervical screening education to Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs) and increase awareness of screening amongst Aboriginal communities. Amongst this work, VCS Liaison Physicians and our education team have participated in two Women’s Health Days at regional Victorian ACCHOs in March and April 2021 to promote cervical screening and self-collection (part of a year-long program of women’s health events for the Beautiful Shawl breast screening initiative). VCS Foundation and VACCHO have consulted widely with ACCHOs on updating our ‘How to take your own HPV sample’ instruction sheet so that it is culturally appropriate and appealing for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women. This work is still in progress.
