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Member for Barker kickstarts a push for radiation treatment in the Limestone Coast

After a failed bid in 2020, the campaign is set to be reignited to see a Cancer Treatment Centre set up in the Limestone Coast.

Member for Barker Tony Pasin kickstarted a potential push for a centre with two meetings last week – an invite-only meeting last Thursday afternoon where key stakeholders from local government, the local health service and community based cancer support groups met with the local MP, as well as a community meeting a couple of hours later attended by around 30 people, including from as far afield as Naracoorte.

The meetings also gave Icon Group CEO Paul Fenton (pictured), the group that put together the unsuccessful tender in 2020, the chance to pitch the service they are willing to provide the Limestone Coast.

The former Federal Coalition Government announced, Fighting Cancer – Regional Cancer Treatment Centres for Radiation Therapy program in 2019 to expand cancer treatment capacity throughout regional Australia by investing in additional health infrastructure.

In August 2020, public and private service providers were invited to apply for the $45.5 million grant program to develop regional radiation treatment centres for local cancer patients in nominated regions including in the Limestone Coast.

In response to this invitation, a grant application for a treatment centre at Mount Gambier was received by the Federal Government but Mr Pasin said this application did not proceed because the former Liberal South Australian Government did not commit to supporting a service in Mount Gambier.

“It’s incredibly disappointing that our State Government didn’t see merit in establishing local cancer treatment services in the Limestone Coast,” Mr Pasin said.

When the current federal Government’s October budget still included what is a $4.5million allocation to a centre in the Limestone Coast, Mr Pasin decided to again pursue the vital service for his electorate.

And the Icon CEO was on hand to assure the community, the group was also still keen to provide a radiation treatment service in the region, also pointing out the 2019 Federal Government program was an election sweetener and the South Australian Government had limited time to assess the business case and commit to any funding.

On the surface the maths is simple. The Federal Government’s $4.5million will fund the purchase of a radiation treatment machine, the State Government would be looking at an estimated $3million in annual costs to cover the gap, so the services would be provided as part of the public health system and Icon Group would fund the build and running of the centre and the staffing.

The other key player in the proposed centre would be the Limestone Coast Local Health Network and its governing board, headed by Grant King, who admitted he was flying somewhat blind, having never seen the Icon proposal, but committed the board to accessing that proposal – with Paul Fenton happy to provide the original 2020 information – and fully investigating the business case.

If this campaign gathers momentum, City of Mount Gambier councillor Ben Hood has already offered his services to help create and drive any grassroots push for the centre, utilising his skills in marketing and communications to put together an irresistible campaign, which would include a petition.

While Mr Pasin will continue to knock on doors in the halls of power, having already discussed the potential centre with Federal Health Minister Mark Butler and by advocating to South Australian health officials and making the case for the State Government’s financial input.

“Almost everyone in this community is impacted y cancer in one way or the other in their lifetime,” Mr Pasin said. “Cancer is hard enough without needing to travel for treatment and the added stress is very much unwanted at this difficult time.

“Multiple studies have shown that cancer survival rates are lower in regional areas and that distance from, and utilisation of radiation therapy is a significant factor in these statistics.”

Icon Group CEO Paul Fenton arguably said it best as he outlined to the community meeting, just what a Limestone Cancer Treatment Centre would look like.

“We are about offering the best care possible, as close to home as possible,” he said.

As a qualified radiation therapist, Mr Fenton spent nearly 14 years at Barwon Health in Geelong before managing the Ballarat service for Austin Health for two years. From there he established Epworth Radiation Oncology as the Director of Operations, running two metropolitan sites and winning the public contract to deliver services at Warrnambool. After six years at Epworth, Mr Fenton joined Icon Group as the State Manager for South-East Australia following the acquisition of Epworth Radiation Oncology. His significant experience as a health executive, alongside his clinical expertise, lends itself to an engaging and knowledgeable leadership style that empowers teams to deliver compassionate, comprehensive and exceptional care.

Icon would be looking to deliver more than 400 radiation treatment courses a year with the Mount Gambier Hospital precinct the preferred site for the centre.

“Icon are ready willing and able,” Mr Pasin said. “We now need to really raise our voices as a community. It’s a great opportunity for a different government to make a different decision.”

Barrie Moyle, who has been a leader in health in Naracoorte for decades, and attended the Mount Gambier meeting last Thursday, threw his support behind the proposed centre.

“This is a fantastic opportunity and I think we should be pursuing in every which way,” Mr Moyle said.

Safe to say Cr Hood was also ready to hit the ground running.

“These opportunities don’t come along that often,” Cr Hood said.

“We need to consider the Limestone Coast and what people go through now. It needs to be driven by the community because it’s for the community.

“Everything’s aligned – the funding is still there, there’s an operator who is keen to do the job and knows how to do the job. Now the community needs to stand up and let the State Government know this is what we want.”

If the treatment centre is given the go ahead, Mr Fenton tabled a six to 12 month lag tie to have it up and operational.

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