A HUMBLE letter has “set in stone” the construction of a long-awaited and estimated $50 million integrated cancer centre at Dubbo Hospital, reports member for Parkes Mark Coulton.
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Communities around western NSW have been calling for a cancer centre for many years and the campaign gained momentum when a petition circulated the region.
He revealed the existence and the importance of the letter at a media conference prompted by a visit to the city by federal Assistant Minister for Rural Health Dr David Gillespie.
Mr Coulton advised that the letter officially delivered on the federal government’s election commitment of $25 million for the cancer centre.
“The NSW government got a letter co-signed by (federal Minister for Regional Development) Fiona Nash and myself some weeks ago assuring the NSW government that the funds are there,” he said.
“They needed that assurance so that they could actually put the planning processes in place.”
y now have the confidence that the funds are coming and so the cancer centre is now being written into stages three and four (redevelopment of Dubbo Hospital).
Dr Gillespie said the $25 million was coming from the Community Development Grants Program and covered about half the cost of the cancer centre.
NSW Deputy Premier and Member for Dubbo Troy Grant has previously told of talks with the Western NSW Local Health District and Health Infrastructure about where to locate the cancer centre at the hospital.
Stage three and four redevelopment will begin with the construction of another floor on the hospital’s new clinical services building, with tenders called in August.
The campaign for the Cancer Centre gained momentum earlier this year when the Rotary Club of Dubbo initiated a petition encouraging politicians to address the lack of cancer services out west.
Dubbo's first resident oncologist Dr Florian Honeyball vouched for the terrible reality cancer patients currently experience.
"There are lots of personal stories, I see it in my day-to-day work," he said.
"Someone who won't travel 300km to get their radiation treatment because they can't get home the same day to look after their dog.
"I see a woman having to struggle to go to Sydney for a clinical trial because we just don't have the infrastructure to offer that here in Dubbo.
"So I see the realities day to day, I hear it, we all hear it day-to-day while we're manning the stations.
"There are lots of human stories where we could change people's lives by providing this cancer care centre in Dubbo,” Dr Honeyball said.
