CANCER patients in the south-west have called upon federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon to hear their pleas for improved care.
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Yesterday they got their response: funding and a ministerial visit are not on Ms Roxon's agenda.
The Standard received a one-sentence response from the Federal Health Department after inviting Ms Roxon visit Warrnambool to meet with members of Peter's Project - an initiative to secure an integrated cancer care centre for the region.
A Health Department spokeswoman told The Standard that Ms Roxon had been occupied in recent weeks with the proposed hospital funding reform spearheaded by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and her department.
"If minister Roxon visits Warrnambool in the future she would be happy to meet with local health workers," Ms Roxon's spokeswoman said.
Yesterday's response was almost identical to one published in The Standard in February, in which Ms Roxon's department responded to a query about Medicare eligibility for an MRI licence in Warrnambool.
"If minister Roxon visits Warrnambool in the future and if her schedule permits, she would be happy to meet with local health workers," the spokeswoman said at the time.
Peter's Project founder Vicki Jellie said the campaign would have to take its fight to Canberra as a ministerial visit by Ms Roxon becomes less and less likely.
“It’s just typical of the response we have had from them ever since we started discussions,” Mrs Jellie said.
“The key word in that quote is ‘if’; ‘if the minister visits Warrnambool’ rather than ‘when the minister visits Warrnambool’.
“We have just been brushed off by the Health Department until now, so the prospect of us going to Canberra seems a better prospect for us to actually get a word with Nicola Roxon.”
The Standard officially endorsed Peter’s Project last week and called on the Federal Health Minister to conduct a personal visit of Warrnambool.
The campaign has gained support from a range of south-west leaders including former Warrnambool mayor Glenys Phillpot, businessmen Colin McKenna, Graeme Rodger and Andrew Anderson, oncologists Terri Hayes and John Hounsell, St John of God chief executive Glyn Palmer and South West Healthcare palliative care director Eric Fairbank among others.
For more information or to make a donation, log onto the Peter’s Project website
www.petersproject.org.au
