![A new approach: Dermatologist Saleem Loghdey and Mohs [skin cancer surgeon] registrar Louis Wessels in surgery. Picture: Jane Dyson](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-feed-data/98a20266-5353-4072-b348-aa1a12351e84.jpg/r0_0_4312_2875_w576_h298_fmax.webp "A new approach: Dermatologist Saleem Loghdey and Mohs [skin cancer surgeon] registrar Louis Wessels in surgery. Picture: Jane Dyson")
A $1.2 million project in Sutherland Shire could transform the way skin cancer and chronic wounds are managed.
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It aims to establish a new model of integrated care to improve assessment and treatment times.
Sutherland Hospital, through South Eastern Sydney Local Health District, was awarded a $1.2 million grant by NSW Health to run the project in partnership with the Integrated Specialist Healthcare Education and Research Foundation at Integrated Specialist Heathcare at Miranda.
The project, which includes an integrated skin cancer program and an integrated chronic wound care program, is being run in partnership with Central and Eastern Sydney Primary Health Network (formerly South Eastern Sydney Medicare Local), Macquarie University, Ramsay Healthcare and Laverty Pathology.
The skin cancer program began on Monday, July 27; the integrated wound care program begins in October.
Associate Professor Anand Deva, a plastic surgeon from Integrated Specialist Heathcare, is the designated project lead.
He said it would examine to what extent patients could benefit from having specialists from different fields of medicine under the one roof.
Professor Deva said some patients were waiting eight weeks from time of assessment to treatment because of the lag time between appointments with various specialists.
"The system is very fragmented, and integration of GPs, specialists, diagnostics and facilities is a great innovation and could potentially bring great benefits to our patients," he said.
