Tamworth Electorate Radiotherapy Services

The Hon. TREVOR KHAN [5.40 p.m.]: The continuing absence of appropriate radiotherapy facilities in Tamworth causes hardship and disadvantage to cancer sufferers in the north-west of this State. The Northern Daily Leader today reported on the distressing case of a 31-year-old mother of two, Nicole Parry-Leahy, who must leave Tamworth for six weeks of treatment at Newcastle's Mater Hospital. In today's edition, the Northern Daily Leader reports:

Mrs Parry-Leahy has come out in strong support of a New South Wales Cancer Council's call for the establishment of a radiation therapy centre at Tamworth Hospital.

This call for a radiotherapy unit follows similar calls at the last State election by The Nationals candidate for the State seat of Tamworth, Kevin Anderson, for the establishment of such a unit, and an even earlier call by the Country Women's Association for the State Government to address the issue. I, too, have previously raised this important issue as a result of representations made to me by the Cancer Council, medical practitioners, citizens and cancer sufferers in the Tamworth region. Sadly, despite these repeated calls, the Iemma Labor Government has refused all requests to address this issue. Today's Northern Daily Leader article quotes the New South Wales Cancer Council's Regional Co-ordinator, Natalie Flemming, as saying:

Tamworth, like many other regional centres across the State, could not offer local access to radiation therapy treatment.

It is a sad fact, as confirmed by Ms Flemming of the Cancer Council, that people living in regional centres such as Tamworth either have to travel long distances and live apart from their families to access treatment, or go without. There is a glaring gap in the north-west of this State in relation to access to radiation oncology services It is a sad fact that, because of this huge burden on the emotions as well as the finances of women suffering from breast cancer, they are far more likely to opt for radical surgery than chemotherapy or radiation therapy treatment. Put another way: women in rural or regional areas are forced by their circumstances to accept treatment that in many cases is both physically disfiguring and psychologically disturbing. As Ms Flemming is reported as saying in today's Northern Daily Leader:

People in rural and remote areas often went without the life saving treatment altogether because it was just too hard to get it.

Ms Flemming continued:

We [the New South Wales Cancer Council] know many people diagnosed with cancer don't access the treatment because it is too far and too expensive to travel to a clinic.

We have found there is a gap in people needing the treatment and people who are actually accessing it.

We believe [the Government] needs to expand existing services and develop new services.

Mrs Parry-Leahy, who yesterday said goodbye to her children for six weeks, said she is more fortunate than most people because she is able to live with relatives in Newcastle while making day trips to the radiation therapy unit. Unfortunately, many people are not in the same situation as Mrs Parry-Leahy and are forced to live in expensive hotel accommodation or look to other less than satisfactory alternatives.

One should not forget that the psychological and emotional health of a patient undergoing aggressive treatment of cancer is important and that being separated from family and friends must naturally impact on feelings of wellbeing. During a time as stressful as being treated for cancer who would wish to be away from family for weeks at a time? The sad fact is that not only do the policies of this Government affect the finances and convenience of people living in rural and regional New South Wales, but also its refusal to provide a radiation therapy unit in the north-west of the State potentially impacts directly on the health and wellbeing of the people of this region.

It is time for the Iemma Labor Government to look past the corruption and mismanagement that engulfs it and instead show compassion by funding the immediate construction and staffing of a radiotherapy unit in Tamworth. The establishment of the infrastructure—a radiation oncology unit—is the first step. With this infrastructure in place we can begin to train radiation therapists locally through the university's department of rural health and the upcoming rural medical school, both based at the Tamworth Base Hospital. New South Wales is in desperate need of more highly trained radiation therapists. With the provision of a radiation oncology unit at Tamworth combined with the training facilities already in place, we will have the opportunity to ensure that New South Wales citizens—particularly those in regional and rural areas—have better access to cancer care services close to home. Finally, I wish Mrs Parry-Leahy a speedy recovery from her treatment and a safe return to the loving arms of her family.