Liberals commit to radiation treatment service

“I just find it outrageous that the most basic level of radiation service was not offered in this part of the world.”

That is how newly anointed South Australian Opposition Leader Vincent Tarzia started his address to members of the Radiation Treatment Limestone Coast Working Party, as well as City of Mount Gambier Mayor Lynette Martin and Member for Mount Gambier Troy Bell during a whirlwind visit to the city at the beginning of this month.

“We (the Liberal Party) will commit to a radiation service here in the Limestone Coast,” Mr Tarzia said.

Announcing the election commitment, flanked by Shadow Minister for Transport and Infrastructure and Limestone Coast local Ben Hood, Shadow Minister for Regional South Australia Nicola Centofanti and Federal member for Barker Tony Pasin, the Opposition Leader made a $6million commitment across four years when returned to power.

“We’ve listened and got on with making sure that if we’re elected we will deliver the service.”

“I want to make it really clear that your postcode shouldn’t decide your level of care.

“My hope is that the government will come to the able and match us.”

“I’m an outcomes guy – where there’s a political will there’s a way – we’ve listened and we’re delivering.”

Mr Pasin, who has played a frontline role in the campaign to bring radiation treatment services to the Limestone Coast, including creating the working party and spearheading a petition that garnered more than16,000 signatures, welcomed the announcement.

“Some of them (political leaders) listen but very few of them take action,” Mr Pasin said. “This is not just an exercise in listening but an exercise in doing.”

The Federal MP was quick to give credit to the determination and persistence of the working group.

“I’ve never worked with a harder working group of more civically minded individuals,” he said. “And just how important you’ve been in moving the needle nationally.

“Had you not stood up when we had our initial disappointment, this announcement wouldn’t be happening today.”

Mr Pasin also was quick to caution that this was just another step in what would still be a marathon to see radiation treatment services established in the region.

Mr Bell also welcomed the commitment with a degree of caution.

“This is a great outcome by the State Liberal Party to make a commitment to radiation therapy,” he said. “The challenge now is to get Labor to commit the same otherwise my vote at the next election is pretty easy to determine.

“That’s the role I see as an Independent. No matter who gets into government our community should get the benefit.”

Issues including recruiting the workforce, where to build the service and financing any required construction to house the equipment, which will initially be funded by the long standing $4.3 million of Commonwealth allocated funding for the project.

Mr Hood was confident those issues would be resolved.

“The workforce issue will sit with the third party provider delivering the radiotherapy,” he said. “It works in Griffith, Mildura, Warrnambool. I acknowledge it can be an issue but it’s not something that should stop a service.

“It could be fly in, fly out as are many specialists in regional health – that’s the nature of regional health care but it shouldn’t stop us from doing something.”

He also said given the treatment would service mainly outpatients, it was a quite modular set up and could be built anywhere.

“It could be on the footprint of the hospital or delivered in the CBD of Mount Gambier,” Mr Hood said.

He also referenced further Federal Government grant funding that could be accessed by the project for up to eight years at around $375,000 a year to ensure the maintenance of the equipment and any required updating of the technology.

“I want to thank the tens of thousands of South Australians, and the hardworking grassroots working party, who have fought long and hard to get a commitment from government to establish radiotherapy services in the regions,” Mr Hood said.

“I’m proud to stand side by side with my community today, and all those that fought hard, including those 16,000 people who signed the petition, to promise them that we will deliver the care they deserve, closer to home.”

The Radiation Oncology Access Coalition considers the recently unveiled Feasibility Study and response by the Limestone Coast Local Health Network, that did not support the viability of a service in this region, to be flawed and based on inappropriate criteria.