Ballarat cancer centre: work begins

Updated November 2 2012 - 3:48pm, first published February 14 2011 - 12:47pm

THE first sod has been turned on the $56.5 million Ballarat Regional Integrated Cancer Centre.Ballarat MHR Catherine King and State Health Minister David Davis yesterday picked up shovels to signify the start of construction on the world-class facility.The centre will be built by New South Wales-based Leighton Contractors on the current car park in Drummond Street North, next to the Ballarat Health Services Base Hospital.It will include two new linear accelerators, four radiation oncology bunkers, four extra chemotherapy chairs and a computed tomography scanner.Ms King said the centre should be operational by late next year or early 2013, with the federal government committing $42 million and the state government providing $14.5 million.“Cancer is still placing an intolerable burden on our community,” Ms King said.“With some cancers, patients from rural and remote areas are up to three times more likely to die within five years of diagnosis than their urban counterparts.”“These are confronting statistics, though survival in Australia is high by world standards.“People from the region will have improved access to the right care at the right time, as close as possible to home and family.”The cancer centre was announced last April, and was the result of a joint push by BHS, St John of God Hospital, Austin Health and the Ballarat community.“The Ballarat Cancer Centre is here because the community knew the importance of its delivery, and the federal government knew the importance of investing in cancer infrastructure projects across regional Australia,” Ms King said.Mr Davis said regional centres needed to improve cancer survival rates.“Victoria does very well with cancer survival rates overall but regional Victoria needs to do better to equal its city cousins,” Mr Davis said.“The Victorian Cancer Strategy is...a significant step in providing greater service to regional areas.”BHS chief executive officer Andrew Rowe said BRICC was finally becoming a reality.“This is a significant milestone in the development of cancer services in the Ballarat region,” Mr Rowe said.“It will provide care in our community for people who have been and who will be touched by cancer.”

Subscribe now for unlimited access.

$0/

(min cost $0)

or signup to continue reading

See subscription options

Get the latest Ballarat news in your inbox

Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date.

We care about the protection of your data. Read our Privacy Policy.