"PATS service Geraldton"

I have been dealing with PATS Geraldton since 2012 as my spouse required treatment and services for melanomas, squamous cell cancers and specialist surgeries with Dermatologists and for radiotherapy and pet scans which are not available here.

The financial and accommodation assistance has been invaluable. At that time Tracy and her team were very efficient, purchase orders were prompt and reimbursements were completed within 2 weeks. There was a dedicated office for face to face visits and phone contact was easy and responded to.

Fast forward a few years to 2024/2025 to now and a lot of changes have occurred….and I think they are not all good. Tracy and her staff are gone. There is no office to have face to face contact. There are less staff with less hours with an increased workload…

Reimbursements are now taking at least 6weeks which I think is unacceptable especially for patients who are not financial. It seems that the bulk of paperwork has to be handled by community health receptionists who have to check in patients plus try and keep up with all the changes and paperwork for PATS.

When I asked why there were so many delays I was told.. Staff shortages, not enough hours, staff not replaced, turnover of staff.

It is obvious to me that more staff are required so these poor workers can do their job properly ..

The paperwork has increased but I think the yellow and blue form system is pretty good. The staff are very helpful in navigating these forms.

So I think the staff are doing there best with a system that is not user friendly for patients when they are going through difficult times.

I would like the powers that be to either employ more staff or increase their hours.