In April 2019, in the leadup to the Federal election the Nationals announced under their electioneering promises that in addition to the $6 billion a year the Liberal National Government provides for cancer treatments and services, the LNP are investing $63.4 million to expand cancer treatment capacity through new radiation therapy services in 13 regional locations.
"The federally funded initiative will provide greater access, help and support for people fighting cancer. The new centres will deliver high quality, comprehensive radiation oncology services in the following areas" South Coast (Eurobodalla) was identified as being one of the 13 locations. An alliance of the four leading bodies representing the radiation therapy sector has
today outlined key requirements to ensure Australians living in regional and rural areas
have improved access to quality cancer care.
The Radiation Oncology Alliance worked together to update the Establishing and
sustaining regional and rural radiation therapy centres issues paper, first published in
2016. The alliance consists of The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of
Radiologists’ (RANZCR) Faculty of Radiation Oncology, Australasian College for
Physical Scientists and Engineers in Medicine (ACPSEM), Australian Society of
Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy (ASMIRT), and Cancer Nurses Society of
Australia (CNSA).
The paper outlines principles to guide the establishment of radiation therapy services in
regional and rural areas, including workforce and resourcing, IT infrastructure, and
local collaboration. We welcome the $63 million commitment from the Australian
Government to build radiation therapy treatment centres in 13 new locations across
regional and rural Australia and hope the paper will provide guidance to make these
centres a success.
RANZCR President Dr Lance Lawler said, “We know that cancer outcomes are
currently worse for regional and rural patients. They face many challenges in accessing
the care they need, including travel and accommodation for outpatient treatments like
radiation therapy. The new regional radiation therapy centres will help address these
current gaps in cancer services and better meet the individual needs of the
communities they will service.
“It is recommended that the facility be integrated within local health services and
establish linkages with tertiary centres. We urge the government and other
stakeholders to carefully consider all factors outlined in this paper to ensure that the
new radiation therapy centres deliver quality care and equitable outcomes for cancer
patients in regional Australia.”
RANZCR will continue to work closely with the Australian Government to ensure
regional and rural cancer patients have access to the highest quality cancer care.
Image: Mikael Häggström
