THE Albury-Wodonga cancer centre’s ability to meet patient demand has been queried by Border medical heavyweights.
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Doubts about the operation of the regional treatment hub, officially opened two years ago this week, are contained in an open letter signed by 44 of the Twin Cities’ medicos.
The specialists, surgeons and doctors want greater funding for Albury Wodonga Health and are urging voters in Benambra to make it a marginal seat at this month’s Victorian election.
Oncologist Craig Underhill, who fought for the cancer centre, said in the two years it had operated it had exceeded its patient budget and required top-up funding.
“We’ve been told this year there’s no guarantee there will be more funding,” Dr Underhill said.
“It means then that Albury Wodonga Health will be having a discussion with the department in the first half of calendar year 2019 to keep the doors open.
“Potentially we will have to redirect patients elsewhere and it’s easy in a city hospital where you’ve got another hospital down the road, but it’s different up here.”
Dr Underhill said a lack of funding also threatened the upkeep of the building.
“Albury Wodonga Health has been given zero dollars to maintain the cancer centre by the state government, so at some stage pieces of equipment will need to be replaced or air-conditioning systems will need to be replaced or fixed and there will be no money,” he said.
The medicos believe Benambra needs to be marginal and argue for “voting strategically” in the election, pointing to funding reaped by fellow Victorian electorate of Shepparton after it voted in an independent in 2014.
“When you speak to politicians and health administrators they always say ‘you’re in a safe seat’,” Dr Underhill said.
“It seems like a perverse system where infrastructure is decided on political expediency rather than medical needs.”
Border Medical Association chairman Scott Giltrap was also critical.
“Because we are both sides of the border we are not funded as appropriately as we should be and it’s shoved from one government to another,” Dr Giltrap said.
“We’re a major regional centre and a referral centre and we’re not getting the infrastructure that we need.”
Mr Giltrap suggested the time was emerging when a new Albury hospital was required.
“It’s almost at the stage where we need to develop a hospital on a new site,” he said.
“However, because of the cross border situation neither state governments or federal governments are taking appropriate responsibility.”
A Labor Party representative for Victorian Health Minister Jill Hennessy responded to the medics’ letter by extolling the existing funding.
“We’ve already delivered record funding for Albury-Wodonga Health – more than 28 per cent than the previous Liberal Nationals Government,” the spokesman said.
“We’ve given Albury Wodonga Health more than $1.8 million for upgrades this term alone – and we’ll keep working with clinicians and the community on the best way forward for the health service.”
Dr Underhill said the budget boosting was not substantial.
“Each year they put up funding a little bit, based on what we got funded the last year,” he said.
“There’s been no big injection where they’ve gone ‘now you’re a regional health service, so you deserve this amount per head of population’.
“It’s very difficult to benchmark between other similar health services, such as Ballarat and Bendigo, but we suspect we’re getting less funding.
“When I’ve asked ‘how does our funding compare?’, they don’t seem to know.”
The Border Mail approached Albury Wodonga Health about the concerns raised by the health professionals, particularly the matters surrounding the cancer centre.
Neither the service’s chief executive Leigh McJames or board chairwoman Nicki Melville would respond.
A spokeswoman said: “As government is in the caretaker period, Albury Wodonga Health has no comment to make.”
Though the service rejected the letter’s point about the Victorian government’s commitment to a new hospital casualty ward.
“The following error of fact is noted,” she said.
“The Victorian Department of Health and Human Services is supporting the progression of master planning for Albury Wodonga Health, including the emergency department redevelopment. No decision has been made by the Victorian Government on funding.”
Member for Benambra Bill Tilley stressed his record of campaigning for health funding in response to the claim there would be more government money flowing into the medical system if his seat was marginal.
The 44 doctors, surgeons and specialists stated in their letter they bore “no malice” to the Liberal MP but added he “has been powerless to get the funding we need”.
“We urge Benambra voters to vote strategically at this election, and make Benambra a marginal seat,” the medicos wrote.
Mr Tilley declined to address the question of whether more money would be spent on the Wodonga-based seat if it was marginal but said the community “cannot afford a minority government whether it be formed by Labor and the Greens or Labor and rogue independents”.
“Since I’ve been elected I have successfully advocated a $5.5 million boost to the emergency department at Albury-Wodonga Hospital; delivered a dedicated MICA paramedic for Wodonga; and delivered a new ambulance station at West Wodonga,” Mr Tilley said.
“I want to reassure you that I will continue to fight for even better healthcare outcomes for Wodonga.
“I’m a big believer in a strong local healthcare system.
“I will fight each and every day to get the best for the Albury-Wodonga region.”
Mr Tilley said he would be happy to meet with the signatories to the letter and discuss their concerns.
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