In short:
St John of God will delay the development of a new private hospital in Vasse that included plans for an oncology unit.
77-year-old Howard George says he’ll have to continue driving between Vasse and Bunbury every two weeks to receive chemotherapy.
What’s Next?
The St John of God acting CEO says the day-hospital will be reviewed as it looks into its long-term planning.
When 77-year-old Howie George went to hospital to receive treatment for burns on his feet, he had no idea he’d be leaving with a cancer diagnosis.
He had no signs or symptoms yet his entire body was riddled with the disease, with his bowel and prostate the worst affected.
“It was a bit of a shock to the system,” he said.
“I was sent to a prostate urologist in Bunbury and the first meeting was all gloomy faces.”
For the past two years, Mr George has had to travel from Vasse to Bunbury’s St John of God hospital to receive chemotherapy, as there are no oncology services in the public Busselton Health Campus.
Mr George says the chemotherapy is the only thing keeping alive.
When the news broke that the new hospital that was going to include an oncology unit in the South West town of Busselton had been paused, Mr George was shocked.
“I’m absolutely devastated to hear the announcement. I was looking forward to it,” he said.
“It would’ve alleviated a lot of problems for us.”
Mr George travels has a 120km round trip from Vasse to Bunbury for chemotherapy every two weeks.
As the treatment makes his vision blurry, he has to be driven by his daughter or friends.
He says there is a bus service between the towns, however it only leaves at 7am and then returns at 6pm.
“Travelling up and down is okay if you are well, but if you’re not well, which a lot of cancer patients aren’t, it’s a bit of a drama”.
While he is not in remission, Mr George says the chemotherapy has effectively ‘paused’ his cancer.
He told the ABC he cannot have surgery due to a low platelet count in his blood.
“Now the cancer isn’t playing fair, it’s starting to shove out blood clots. And you only need one in the brain and one in the lungs and it’s terminal. So now I’m on blood thinners,” he said.
Plans paused as services reviewed
St John of God announced almost two years ago it would build a private day hospital in Vasse to better service the Busselton and Margaret River community.
The Busselton and Margaret River region is home to more than 60,000 people in the South West of WA.
The new site would feature a 23-hour surgical unit, dialysis and an oncology unit.
But the health care provider revealed on Monday the development is now delayed with no timeline of restarting the project in sight.
In a statement, St John of God acting CEO Ben Edwards said it was important the health care provider operated in a financially responsible way.
Which at times required the pause of development projects.
The organisation has not ruled out the option though — as it continues to review the option of developing a day hospital in the Vasse region.
The news comes after the health care provider closed its maternity ward at its Bunbury hospital on June 25.
Narrowing the gap
Cancer Council WA says people living in regional WA have lower rates of survival when it comes to cancer.
Rare cancer patients experience a five-year survival rate compared to those in metro areas.
Information and Support Services Director Melanie March says it’s important to continue to narrow the gap between regional patients and specialist cancer care – no matter what postcode people have.
“A cancer diagnosis can have an enormous impact on anyone affected by cancer, but particularly those living in regional and rural Western Australia,” she said.
The WA Country Health Service were unable to answer if there were any plans in place to introduce an oncology ward at the Busselton Health Campus.