Warren Jack found this amongst his Dads' old slides, apparently it was on the highway approaching Batemans Bay in 1962.
Photo: Facebook BATEMANS BAY NOTICE BOARD The NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into rural health today heard the NSW Government defend their decision not to submit an application for cancer treatment funding in Bega and the Eurobodalla.
Under questioning from Labor MLCs Walt Secord and Greg Donnelly, NSW Health told the inquiry that no funding application was made for a regional treatment centre in the Eurobodalla, stating that “it's hard to justify that investment for 1-2 patients a day".
In 2019, the federal Liberal government announced the Bega/Eurobodalla as a targeted region to fund regional radiation treatment centres to a total of $45.5 million in competitive grants, which closed in October 2020.
Currently, there is no radiotherapy service on the 350km of the NSW coast south of Nowra and patients are having to drive up to three-and-a-half hours to the nearest radiation oncology services in the ACT or Nowra.
Former Eurobodalla hospital obstetrician gynaecologist Dr Michael Holland said “The government had a chance to bring radiation oncology services to the Eurobodalla and save people travelling over 3 hours for treatment. They chose not to. And today we heard them defend that decision and say “it’s hard to justify that investment for 1-2 patients a day.”
“2,000 people suffer from cancer in this region every year - It is staggering that they would willingly force patients to travel 3.5 hours one way for life saving treatment, when they could have delivered those services locally.”
Shadow Minister for Health Ryan Park MP said “A radiation therapy service was promised to the people of the Eurobodalla to reduce the need for travel to the ACT.
“The need is there – 700 patients a year could have used the services. Yet it turns out an application wasn’t even made.”
“How can Bega and the Eurobodalla get better health care services if the government isn’t even applying for funding?”
