Life-saving cancer treatment for Cobar patients is now available not so far from home with Dubbo’s highly anticipated $35 million cancer treatment centre now offi-cially opened.
The Western Cancer Centre gives residents in Western NSW better access to the critical healthcare services they need.
The Australian Government provided $25 million for the state-of-the-art facility, with the NSW Government contributing $10 million to the project.
The centre welcomed its first patients in September last year, with a number of services moving into the facility at Dubbo Hospital since then.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Devel-opment Barnaby Joyce was present at last week’s official opening.
He said locals now have improved access to the health services they need and deserve.
“We are committed to providing regional Australians with the same services and oppor-tunities that are readily available in capital cities and the Western Cancer Centre shows that we are getting the job done,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.
“This facility provides services that haven’t been accessible in the region before, including medical oncology, radiation therapy and PET/CT diagnostic scans.
“These enhanced care services will reduce costs and stress for patients, ensuring they can receive the care they need closer to home.”
NSW Minister for Regional Health Bronnie Taylor said the new facility is a once-in-a-generation health infrastructure project that will deliver the latest treatment and diagnostic services for the region.
“The Western Cancer Centre Dubbo in-cludes 16 chemotherapy spaces doubling the previous capacity, as well as new consultation rooms and a wellness space that provides best-practice support and wellbeing services to patients and their families,” Minister Taylor said.
Federal Member for Parkes Mark Coulton said the official opening of the project marks a historic milestone for the Dubbo community and wider region, after construction wrapped up late last year.
“The Western Cancer Centre is something I’ve passionately fought for since 2016 and I’m thrilled to see this critical project already benefitting the community in life-changing ways,” Mr Coulton said.
“It will not only benefit families throughout the western region but will be utilised by peo-ple right across my electorate and regional NSW.
“Importantly, the centre has the ability to keep up with projected increase in demand for services as our population ages and incidences of cancer increases.
“This is an investment for the future.”
NSW Minister for Western New South Wales and Member for the Dubbo electorate Dugald Saunders said there is no doubt this investment will lead to better outcomes for cancer patients across Western NSW.
“Fighting cancer is hard enough without having to be torn away from your support network, not to mention the financial strain of travel, accommodation and time off work,” Mr Saunders said.
“This centre is already making a monumen-tal difference for patients and their families, who can now undergo life-saving treatment much closer to home.”
