Mrs Glenis Blackley1
1Fresenius Health Care – Home Therapies, Bunbury, Australia
Biography:
Born and Bred in Northland, New Zealand
BHSc (Nursing)
Moved to Western Australia in 2003.
Nursing Career in New Zealand and Western Australia.
Worked as Spoke Nurse for Fresenius Medical Care since 2022.
Abstract:
The prevalence of End Stage Kidney Disease (ESKD) in remote Western Australia (WA) is significantly high, particularly amongst Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.
Also, West Australians are moving to regional WA, due to the distribution of mining and other resource rectors, increasing the prevalence of ESKD within those regions.
To address the cultural and geographic barriers, the role of the spoke nurse provides a ‘Renal Specific Clinical Link’ directly to patients living remotely by
- Providing home-based dialysis care within the home setting.
- Delivery of clinical education within the home setting and local health facilities, with intent to keep the patient ‘in country’.
- This localized approach removes the need to travel to Perth for training and follow-up care.
- Supports and Improves equity of specialised care, therefore better long-term outcomes for remote West Australians.
The role of the spoke nurse is proving to reduce the physical and psychosocial burden on remote patients and fosters autonomy and patient focused care.
Challenging and rewarding, the role requires renal specific & comprehensive nursing knowledge, practical and contextual knowledge, with the ability to be Resilient and adaptable.
Stories of the challenges are diverse and patient oriented, and making a difference is what really matters!