The health system is not set up for people living in places like Boggabri, all the specialist services are too far away and there is extensive travel involved … [and] extensive coordination to minimise additional trips or spending all day waiting for various appointments.” Rex
Are you concerned that between 1996 and 2006, 51,000 NSW cancer patients who needed radiotherapy treatment did not receive it? If you answered yes then we call on you to take action and join us in speaking out.
Despite health authority benchmarks stating that 50% of all cancer patients will require radiotherapy at least once during their illness, only 36% of NSW cancer patients receive the radiotherapy they need. Problems include:
- lack of services
- long waiting times
- trouble accessing existing services due to distance from treatment
- financial costs of accessing existing services
The NSW Chief Health Officer estimates that there will be 43,450 people diagnosed with cancer in 2012. In order to obtain the benchmark of 50% receiving radiotherapy, at least 69 linear accelerators (the machines used to deliver radiotherapy) would be needed by 2012 and 81 by 2017. Steps to achieving this include:
- funding new radiotherapy centres and machines with priority focus on areas at a distance from existing services
- purchasing services from private radiotherapy centres so that patients are not required to pay a ‘gap fee’.
If the recommended investment in radiotherapy infrastructure is made, NSW would have the chance to overcome the current gap in radiotherapy service provision and ensure that patients requiring radiotherapy in NSW have access to affordable, timely treatment, regardless of where they live.
Make your voice heard and get people talking about what can be done to fix the inequities in the system and help ensure people don’t slip through the cracks. Examples of how you can do this are to:
- Share your story – We are keen to hear from anyone who has a story to tell about radiotherapy. This can include patients, friends, family, carers and health professionals.
- Tell your MP
- Get others talking about it too – forward a link to this webpage to others and talk about it [http://www.canceraction.com.au/radiotherapy/]
To learn about how else you can take action on this issue or other issues then sign up to be the first to know. By signing up you’ll be the first to know about what’s happening in our campaigns and how you can get involved.
Do you have your own idea to promote, mobilise and take action on this issue? Please contact your local Cancer Council NSW office to discuss your ideas and the support they may be able to offer.
See below for a list of resources that may help you in taking action on this issue:
- Fact sheet
- Improving Radiotherapy: where to from here?- A roadmap for the NSW Government (May 2009)
- Roadblocks to Radiotherapy – stories behind the statistics (Nov 2009)
- Improving Radiotherapy in NSW: answering the tough questions (Dec 2009)
- NSW Health Radiotherapy Services Strategic Plan
- Clinical Services Framework
- Audit Office Report – media release (June 2009)
- Stateline story in ABC
- Article in Sydney Morning Herald
- Opinion piece in Sydney Morning Herald
Want more information or help on working on this issue? Contact us
