Midwest Patient Assisted Travel Scheme officer goes extra mile for community

The Midwest community has praised a Patient Assisted Travel Scheme (PATS) officer Zahirah for her willingness to go above and beyond in her dedication to patient care.

The Patient Assisted Travel Scheme provides financial assistance for eligible country WA patients to access specialist medical service that’s not available locally.

In the past month PATS officer Zahirah has been repeatedly acknowledged on the Care Opinion platform.

One patient shared how she took the extra time to help him complete essential paperwork in his PATS journey.

"I feel she is part of a very important team providing much needed assistance,"

Only a few weeks later Zahirah was once again praised for being a bright light in a patient’s journey to Perth and back.

When he experienced return airline delays, Zahirah was on hand with a solution to get him home to his family the very next day.

"(She) went out of her way to help us arrange another flight for the following morning for my father to come home.

"It was a very stressful time, made less stressful by Zahirah, which I am most grateful for," they wrote.

WACHS Midwest Regional Director Rachele Ferrari joined in the accolades for Zahirah.

"We want to do all we can to support patients who need to travel for healthcare and our PATS team, including Zahirah, do a fantastic job," he said.

"It's clear our staff continue to go above and beyond to personalise the assistance they provide.

"Positive words such as these, from the families we support have a big impact on the morale of our staff who work in a demanding environment - I urge all of our country communities to thank their local healthcare support teams with us today."