News & Events: Media Releases

Mole Patrol Takes Out National Community Involvement Award

18 October 2011

Mole Patrol, a Ramsay WA skin cancer prevention campaign, managed to save lives and win hearts recently when it was acknowledged as a national winner for community involvement

Hollywood Private Hospital and Joondalup Health Campus’ Mole Patrol campaign was announced the winner of the 2011 Australian Private Hospital’s Association (APHA) Community Involvement Award in Sydney on 17 October 2011.

The APHA awards have been running for over 20 years and recognise and encourage the pursuits and achievements of excellence among Australian private hospitals.

As winner of the Community Involvement Award, Mole Patrol was recognised for it’s contribution to the broader local community.

The Mole Patrol campaign, which ran over eight weeks in summer and was aimed at promoting skin-cancer awareness among the Perth community, provided more than 2,000 people with free-skin checks conducted by a team of highly-skilled specialists including plastic surgeons.

Penny Tassone, State Manager of Marketing and PR, Ramsay Health Care WA said contribution to the community is a key value that underpins the work of Hollywood Private Hospital and Joondalup Health Campus.

“Mole Patrol provided the opportunity for the Perth community to receive a free skin cancer check where an appointment at a mole clinic would cost around $70 and often involve a long wait. The response from the public was overwhelming. At some events we were screening up to 600 people within a few hours. Over 2,000 Western Australians were checked for free over the course of the promotion by highly skilled medical specialists from the team at RediMed, aptly named the Mole Patrol ‘spot team’.”

“Over the campaign one in ten people screened were referred on for biopsy and follow up testing and at least ten serious skin lesions were detected, two of which were confirmed Melanomas.”

“Feedback from visitors was that they found it challenging to get a quick skin cancer check in Perth and were frustrated with the lengthy processes. Mole Patrol allowed them the convenience of being checked on the spot by a team of specialists and for free,” said Ms Tassone.

The announcement comes on the back of Mole Patrol being awarded the winner of the Private Hospitals Association of Queensland (PHAQ) Marketing and Community Awareness Initiatives award in Brisbane earlier this year.