Petition to plea for state guarantee

Member for Lowan Emma Kealy wants a State Government guarantee that dialysis and palliative care services will be part of a new Wimmera Cancer Centre.

Ms Kealy said the government had a duty to fulfill a promise to make sure the centre could deliver all promised services involved in the project if there was a financial shortfall.

She has launched a petition demanding Health Minister Jill Hennessey ‘make good on her promise’ and provide an additional $1.5-million to ensure the Wimmera Cancer Centre, as originally planned, became a reality.

Ms Kealy said she feared, despite a ‘staggering’ community fundraising effort to build the new centre, there would be financial pressure to cut back on planned redevelopment of dialysis and palliative care as well as cancer-support services.

She said her anxiety was based on her belief that project costs would balloon out from $3.5-million to $5-million.

“That will leave the project $1.5-million short, a figure that is a relative drop in the ocean in terms of government investment in the state’s health budget,” she said. “The project has always been more than simply about cancer patients.

“The community has raised well beyond $1-million on the understanding it will also provide better services for people trying to live with kidney disease and appropriate care for people dealing with the end stages of life.

“When it comes to dialysis, we’re basically talking about a service that keeps people alive.

“With palliative care, I can’t emphasise enough how critical it is that we provide people with the care and respect they deserve.

“We are measured by how well we do this – we cannot afford to cut any corners.

“It would be ridiculous to overlook or put this on the backburner for a measly $1.5-million.

“These services are boxed together in this project.

“It is not a project where elements can be segregated based on the absence of a few dollars.”

On-site preparation work on the Wimmera Cancer Centre is already underway in Horsham and Ms Kealy said there was need for a firm government commitment that the project could proceed as planned.

“Wimmera people have gone to great financial lengths to support this and don’t deserve to be placed in a position of haggling over extra money – especially after they have already contributed an enormous amount during a period of drought,” she said.

“Health Minister Jill Hennessy looked local cancer patients in the eye while receiving treatment and promised she would provide additional funding to build the Wimmera Cancer Centre if required.”

Copies of the Wimmera Cancer Centre petition are available at Emma Kealy’s electorate office and on her website.