Background
The National Lung Cancer Screening Program (NLCSP), commencing in July 2025, represents a complex health system reform requiring coordinated implementation across primary care, diagnostic services, multidisciplinary teams and tertiary hospitals. Integrated Cancer Services are uniquely positioned to support regional implementation; however, evidence describing effective implementation approaches remains limited. Although participating health service are implementing the same national program, differences in local context require tailored solutions.
Aim
To describe the design and early deployment of a regional implementation support model to facilitate health service readiness for the NLCSP across Western and Central Melbourne.
Methods
Six months ahead of NLCSP commencement the Western and Central Melbourne Integrated Cancer Service (WCMICS) established a coordinated implementation program across 5 tertiary health services. The model embedded funded site implementation leads within participating health services and established regional governance, readiness assessments, process mapping, capacity and demand modelling, collaborative planning workshops, and Communities of Practice. Site leads coordinated local implementation while participating in region-wide learning and implementation support activities to identify barriers, share solutions and reduce unwarranted variation.
Results
Readiness varied considerably across the five participating health services, despite implementation of a common national program. Site-specific priorities reflected differences in workforce availability, diagnostic workflows, referral pathways, data capability and organisation-wide capacity. Oversight from program leadership with expertise in process redesign and implementation, combined with clinical and local systems knowledge, enabled a collegiate and multidisciplinary response to the barriers identified.
Conclusion
A regional implementation support model enabled coordinated implementation across five health services while supporting local tailored solutions. This systems-level approach may provide a scalable framework for supporting implementation of complex healthcare reforms beyond lung cancer screening.