New England cancer patients have been dealt a serious blow, with the installation of a crucial piece of technology delayed until 2024.
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The NSW government promised to deliver a PET scan machine to Tamworth hospital by the end of this year, but the delay means patients must continue travelling to Newcastle for treatment.
Local member Kevin Anderson told the Leader he's "frustrated" to learn how "little progress has been made" since the Labor government announced its commitment seven months ago.
"If [patients] have to travel then they've got to get accommodation, on top of the stress and angst and anxiety and the trauma of going through that diagnosis," Mr Anderson said.
The provision of cancer service equipment has been an ongoing battle for Tamworth patients, first to get an MRI scanner in 2017, then a Medicare license to improve the MRI's accessibility, and finally to install a PET scanner.
A PET [Positron Emission Tomography] scanner is used to quickly and accurately diagnose cancer and uses image testing to determine where it is, how big it is and whether it has spread.
The scan can also help diagnose other diseases such as depression, epilepsy, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.
Tamworth hospital has had the capacity to support both an MRI and a PET scanner since its $220 million redevelopment in 2015.
Local patients have been lobbying all levels of government for both pieces of high-tech medical equipment since then, even going so far as to raise money for a PET scanner themselves, but with a $2 million price-tag, the scanner stayed out of reach for nearly a decade.
While he was in government, Mr Anderson made representation to the regional health minister for a PET scanner in 2022, and joined a public campaign demanding it in February 2023.
"The community were rightly excited when their campaign had proven to be a success, with the [Labor] government committing to deliver a PET scan to Tamworth by the end of 2023," Mr Anderson told the Leader.
But since delivery of the scanner has been delayed, the local member has accused the state's health minister of not being "open and transparent with the Tamworth community" on the project's timeline.
"We're being told that they're going to start to apply for tenders, and that takes some time, so it is disappointing. I want a commitment from the government that this will continue to happen," he said.
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When the Leader contacted NSW Health Minister Ryan Park for comment, his office sent a statement from the state government in response.
"Unlike the government that Kevin Anderson was a part of, we will deliver this vital service for Tamworth," a NSW Government spokesperson said.
The Leader was also told the delivery of new medical equipment is an "operational" matter and that timelines for delivery are set by the local health district.
The Hunter New England Local Health District (HNELHD) confirmed the PET scanner will not be up and running in Tamworth until 2024.
"The design phase to deliver the new $2 million PET scanner at Tamworth Hospital is complete, with minor capital works to begin shortly," an HNELHD spokesperson said.
"Patients in the Tamworth region currently have access to PET scans via John Hunter and Calvary Mater hospitals."
Both John Hunter and Calvary Mater are in Newcastle, a seven-hour round trip from Tamworth let alone further afield.
"We acknowledge patients in the New England may need to continue traveling these distances to access PET scans while work is underway. Those travelling may be eligible for subsidies under the Isolated Patients Travel and Accommodation Assistance Scheme [IPTAAS]," the HNELHD spokesperson said.
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