Parliamentary Speeches
NORTH COAST AREA HEALTH SERVICE BUDGET ( 06/12/2007)
Mr DONALD PAGE (Ballina) [5.59 p.m.]: I bring to the attention of the House a situation in the Northern Rivers where one of my constituents, Steven Taylor of Mullumbimby, has chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and is being denied treatment at Lismore Base Hospital. Mr Taylor contacted my office to notify me of this situation as he previously received treatment in late 2006 at Lismore Base Hospital Cancer Clinic. The treatment prescribed then was six doses of a chemotherapy drug named Fludarabine. Mr Taylor experienced great results with the drug in 2006 and required only four doses, at which time the treatment was stopped and he went into remission for 12 months.
Unfortunately, Mr Taylor's condition has again deteriorated to the point where his specialist doctor has recommended that he undergo further treatment with the same drug. The drug is recommended by the doctor due to previous successful treatment and subsequent remission. However, when the haematology specialist made the application for treatment to the North Coast Area Health Service his application was denied. The North Coast Area Health Service is not required to give a reason for denial, but it is pretty obvious that the reason is because its budget does not allow treatment with this drug. Indeed, another constituent, Jeanette Kennedy of Ballina, who is also diagnosed with the same type of leukaemia, has been told the same thing. I am told that there are several other cancer patients in the Northern Rivers area who are in the same position.
The incredible thing is that treatment with this drug is available for these patients at other hospitals in this State, including Sydney, and hospitals in Brisbane as well. Indeed, if these patients are required to travel to Sydney or Brisbane for treatment, the cost of their transport and accommodation is heavily subsidised by the New South Wales taxpayer. So here we have a situation where a regional health service in this case North Coast Area Health Service cannot afford to enable treatment with Fludarabine, but a metropolitan hospital can provide exactly the same treatment. It is simply untenable that a patient in a regional area is not able to access treatment at a major regional hospital such as Lismore Base Hospital when this treatment is available to patients in Sydney or Brisbane hospitals. It is not as though Lismore Base Hospital Cancer Clinic cannot provide the treatment—it has in the recent past. It cannot be because the North Coast Area health Service budget cannot afford to pay for the drugs.
It is totally unacceptable that a patient's ability to access treatment is a function of where they live. What makes this situation even more incredible is that my constituents can access treatment with Fludarabine in Sydney and Brisbane, and that their costs for travelling to Sydney or Brisbane and their accommodation whilst receiving treatment in these cities is heavily subsidised by the New South Wales taxpayer. This is a ridiculous situation because it is expensive for the taxpayer and is extremely inconvenient for the patient, who is already suffering leukaemia, to have to travel to Sydney or Brisbane for treatment. This increased inconvenience and stress placed on cancer patients is unnecessary. I repeat: These patients were previously able to be treated at Lismore Base Hospital, but now they cannot be because of budgetary constraints.
In August this year it was revealed that this State Labor Government planned to under-fund the North Coast Area Health Service by $58 million over the 2007-08 year. The North Coast Area Health Service is entitled to 7.6 per cent of the total health budget, which is equivalent to $739 million. However, the New South Wales Government has allocated only $681 million, leaving a shortfall of $58 million. My constituents are now experiencing the effects of this funding cut by having treatment for life-threatening illnesses, such as leukaemia, unavailable to them locally. The North Coast has the fastest growing population of any area in the State, yet this State Labor Government is cutting funding to essential services such as health. When one considers that much of the population growth is in the retirement age group, this situation is even more disastrous.
I have previously raised in the House the issue of the long overdue radiotherapy unit at Lismore Base Hospital. The situation I have highlighted here is just another example of how the people of the Northern Rivers are suffering inadequate health services, especially in the area of cancer treatment. The Northern Rivers region is a low-income area. The ratio of public patients to private patients in this area is approximately 65 per cent public and 35 per cent private. In this region in excess of 1,700 people are diagnosed with cancer each year, and that number is growing. Adequate cancer treatment facilities are a basic necessity that should not be denied to any community in New South Wales, and certainly not a community with the level of demand experienced in the Northern Rivers.
The personal distress caused to individual patients from this State Labor Government's failure to properly fund the North Coast Area Health Service is exemplified by the cases of leukaemia patients, Steven Taylor of Mullumbimby and Jeanette Kennedy of Ballina, and others like them. These patients should be able to be treated at Lismore Base Hospital with the drug Fludarabine as they have in the past. They should not have to travel all the way to Sydney or Brisbane to access treatment with this drug. It is much more inconvenient for these patients to travel rather than be treated close to home and family support networks. It is also much less expensive for the New South Wales taxpayers for them to be treated locally. I call on the Minister for Health to address the availability of anti-cancer drugs, such as Fludarabine, as a matter of urgency. I also ask her to address the problem causing this situation namely, the under-funding of the North Coast Area Health Service.
