The Hon Dr David Gillespie MP
Minister for Regional Health
Minister Assisting the Minister for Trade and Investment
Deputy Leader of the House
Plans for the new Manning-Great Lakes Cancer Care Centre have been significantly bolstered with the centre to be built as a stand-alone facility, delivering comprehensive cancer care services including outreach services for the region.
With Federal funding of $4.47-million, the centre will be built close to Manning Base Hospital in the centre of Taree and will complement and substantially expand the hospital's existing oncology services.
On Thursday, Minister for Regional Health and Federal Member for Lyne Dr David Gillespie joined operators Cancer Care Partners to announce the upgraded plans, with the facility expected to be in operational in the first half of 2023.
"This is an incredibly exciting development for cancer care in our region," Dr Gillespie said.
"The new stand-alone centre will be comprehensive in its service delivery - providing radiation oncology through a high-tech linear accelerator, on-site medical oncology services including chemotherapy and immunotherapy, a dedicated oncology pharmacy, as well as regular outreach services for new and post-treatment patients in the Foster-Great Lakes area.
"This is an exponential upgrade on the original plans we had supported, with far-reaching benefits for our community. The integrated centre will significantly increase access to radiation therapies close to home, reducing the need for family and friends to travel extensively, minimising the impact on health, time, and expense.
"Importantly, the service will be a bulk-billing service for radiation therapy treatment, meaning that patients will not have a financial burden associated with accessing world-class treatment and utilising state-of-the-art equipment.
"I'm delighted to be here today making this announcement with Cancer Care Partners and look forward to delivering this vital medical infrastructure for our community."
Cancer Care Partners' Chairman Dr Tony Noun said the stand-alone centre was based on a regional model first established in the Riverina back in 2002.
"Cancer Care Partners' facilities will be delivering comprehensive regional cancer care centres in both Taree and Griffith, NSW over the next two years. Our service model is customised to regional cancer patients and we have the experience of working with regional communities dating back to 2002 in the Riverina," Dr Noun said.
"This is a fantastic opportunity to establish comprehensive cancer care assessment, treatment, follow-up and outreach services for the community of the Manning-Great Lakes.
"We're close to reaching agreement on a site for the cancer care centre, which will be close to the Manning Base Hospital, and we will be updating the community about this, in coming weeks."
Federal Coalition Government funding for the Manning-Great Lakes Cancer Care Centre is part of the $63.4 million 2019-20 Budget 'Fighting Cancer' initiative, to expand cancer treatment capacity across regional Australia.
