ROQ: Radiation Oncology Queensland

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Radiation Oncology Queensland (ROQ) takes enormous pride in the achievements and commitment of their team of dedicated professionals. The multi-disciplinary team consisting of Radiation Oncologists, Radiation Therapists, Medical Physicists, Nurses and Administration staff has excelled in providinng exceptional patient care in Toowoomba, Cairns and Gold Coast. Additionally this commitment to best practice patient care will soon be in place in the under construction Springfield Cancer Care Centre.

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Since its inception in Toowoomba in May 2007, ROQ has grown rapidly, delivering exceptional patient care, extensive research and development and outstanding education and training.
BRW Best Places to Work 2014
In 2014 the team at ROQ received the prestigious accolade of being named in the Business Review Weekly Best Places to Work 2014 Top 25. This award is based on a comprehensive Cultural Audit and Trust Index undertaken by all ROQ staff. The award was presented to 10 representatives from ROQ in Sydney on September 12th.
CEO Mark Middleton is understandably proud of his team, ‘We really have worked hard to put together an outstanding team of individuals and our leadership group is passionate about the development of our team. We have strived for not only exceptional technical skills but to develop our people as multi-faceted professionals. Our expectation is that they will all be leaders, great team players and have the confidence and self-belief to present and publish their research work. We have sought to build a culture of aspiration and their satisfaction and pride in their work is reflected in the BRW award’
‘A happy and engaged care giving team can make a real difference to patient care. ROQ was one of the few health care organisations to feature in this prestigious list, which is all the more satisfying given the challenging work our team undertakes on a daily basis.’
Exceptional Patient Care
ROQ has a team of 12 Radiation Oncologists who are dedicated to ensuring that patients under their care complete their radiation therapy journey in the most positive way possible.
Gold Coast based Radiation Oncologist Dr Dominic Lunn believes that multi-disciplinary care is a key strength of ROQ;
‘With streamlined patient care paths and task driven workflow we have ensured that the entire MDT is completing their piece of the patient journey. This means that we can support people through their treatment ensuring that their needs are identified and met. We pride ourselves on responsive rapid access to services and the cohesion and co-operation of our team ensures that’.
‘ROQ participates in a large number of Multi-Disciplinary Meetings (MDMs) across Queensland, ensuring continuity of patient care with our partners – Queensland Health, St Andrews Toowoomba Hospital and Mater Health Services. MDMs ensure that our patients are receiving absolute ‘best practice’ care’.
Toowoomba based Nurse Manager Karen Barrett-McNeil believes the ROQ nursing team’s innovative approach to patient care is highly successful;
‘We care for people often from long distances from our centres so we have worked hard at connecting with them both through education and ongoing support. Our telehealth capacity is continually growing with some patients trialling iPads to remain in touch with their nursing and medical team post radiation therapy’.
‘Our nursing team is also providing education and resources to patients via electronic mediums. Often people under our care are presented with huge amounts of information to read and understand. We are continually assessing how we can provide the right information in the right format’.
Technology and Innovation
ROQ has been a pioneer in the use of electronic medical records (EMR) in Radiation Oncology and is internationally recognised for this innovation. The ROQ team has presented on this topic in the United States, United Kingdom, Asia and across Australia as well as conducting two live international webinars which reached a large audience.
Across the ROQ network there is a focus on ensuring the latest techniques and technology are in place. Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT), Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT), Image Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT) and Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) are all standards of care at ROQ. Additionally the ROQ team now has now developed Deep Inspiration Breath Hold (DIBH) for select patients utilising Respiratory Gating.
Chief Radiation Therapist Toni Sisson believes the ‘can-do’ attitude of the ROQ team drives the organisation’s innovation and uptake of new technology;
‘Our team is motivated by exceptional patient care and to ensure that we must continually evolve and embrace new technology. We are focussed on achieving the best outcome for our patients and we are constantly scanning the horizon for things we can do better or improve upon. When you have talented people within your organisation you have to harness that innovation and capacity. If you can do that the introduction of new technology becomes the norm and a responsibility your team demands’.
Research and Development
Since its inception in 2007, ROQ has made a major contribution to research in radiation oncology in all disciplines. ROQ has presented at national and international conferences on over 60 occasions and have published 39 peer reviewed scientific journal articles. This commitment to inform practice and improve patient outcomes is a key strength of ROQ. The leadership of ROQ are industry leaders in terms of radiation oncology research. The Directors of ROQ have an outstanding track record with over 200 peer reviewed publications to their credit. To add to this, these research projects have been truly multi-disciplinary with publications led by radiation oncologists, radiation therapists, medical physicists and nursing staff. Research is an essential part of the culture developed at ROQ, with all staff expected to actively participate in presentation and publication of their own work. This encourages engagement with peers nationally and internationally, reading and interpretation of the literature, and formulating of a research process. These are all essential skills for practising clinicians, and benefit both the job satisfaction of those performing the research and also the patients being involved in cutting edge techniques in a rapidly evolving clinical speciality.
Clinical Trials
Clinical trials afford cancer patients the opportunity to access promising therapies in a safe and structured manner. It is widely regarded that the standard of care for many cancer patients is entry into a clinical trial. ROQ has concentrated on participating in national and international clinical trials. These have largely been investigator-initiated trials through the Trans-Tasman Radiation Oncology Group (TROG). In addition we have engaged in some pharmaceutical trials which have been sponsored by pharmaceutical companies.
ROQ has contributed to over 20 state-based, national and international clinical trials and has been recognised by numerous non-profit organisations in offering competitive grants to our award winning researchers. Acting as a lead site for an international prostate clinical trial, the centre successfully recruited and managed 12 Australian sites to accrue over 200 patients well ahead of the original target accrual timeframe. The centre was also involved in the development and implementation of IMRT quality assurance credentialing.
People Development
Mark Middleton believes the key to ROQ is its people;
‘We are passionate about developing our people. So many of our team commenced their careers with ROQ and are now in senior leadership roles. ROQ invests heavily in our team providing professional development support and career acceleration. Our talent identification program is very mature and across all disciplines we are continually seeking those people who are dedicated, motivated and ready to be part of a great culture’.
For more information please visit www.roq.net.au