❓ Ms. Davies questions the Health Minister about the state government's commitment to funding a radiotherapy facility in Albany, following federal funding for equipment. The Minister acknowledges the offer but expresses concerns about the state's ability to fund the facility's construction and ongoing costs.
AnsweredQoN 878Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
ALBANY RADIOTHERAPY
SERVICE
878. Ms M.J. DAVIES to the Minister for Health:
I say on behalf of the Nationals
that we offer our sincere condolences to the Minister for Tourism on the
passing of his mother.
I refer to the federal government's
announcement of $6.6 million for a radiotherapy service in Albany, which
includes the purchase of a linear accelerator, a CT simulator and a CT
interfacing planning and computer system.
(1) Is the state government
committed to fully funding the facility to house this equipment?
(2) Has the WA
Country Health Service managed preparation of a business case for the facility
to house this equipment?
(3) On what date can we expect a tender
to build the facility to be released?
SERVICE
878. Ms M.J. DAVIES to the Minister for Health:
I say on behalf of the Nationals
that we offer our sincere condolences to the Minister for Tourism on the
passing of his mother.
I refer to the federal government's
announcement of $6.6 million for a radiotherapy service in Albany, which
includes the purchase of a linear accelerator, a CT simulator and a CT
interfacing planning and computer system.
(1) Is the state government
committed to fully funding the facility to house this equipment?
(2) Has the WA
Country Health Service managed preparation of a business case for the facility
to house this equipment?
(3) On what date can we expect a tender
to build the facility to be released?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(3) I
thank the member for the question; it is a very good one. As members would be
aware, there is a federal election in the wind, and there are promises of
funding in different parts of the community. I guess it is part of that process—it
is the season. From that perspective, we welcome the federal government's
proposal to purchase the equipment associated with this particular machine.
Some people have said that this is similar to providing someone with a saddle,
but no horse. I think I have made similar comments in the media recently. Of
course it is one thing to buy the equipment and machinery, which in this case
is around $6 million, is it, member?
Ms M.J. Davies : It is $6.6
million.
Mr R.H. COOK : That is a great
opportunity. But of course the lion's share of the expense associated
with this sort of equipment is the bunker or the housing that we have to put it
in, and of course the recurrent costs associated with running it. Our most
recent experience in terms of funding the construction of a bunker for this
sort of equipment was around $14 million, which was the experience back in 2009
in Bunbury. Of course, on top of that we have the very expensive processes of
funding the ongoing use of the equipment. The offer is welcome, and we are looking
very closely at it. I have asked the department to analyse it and make sure,
one, that it makes sense for the people of Albany that we are putting precious
health resources into establishing the scanner in that community; and, two,
that we can afford it.
In answer to the member's
question about when will we be putting out a tender, we are a long way away
from that, but, as I committed in the media last week, we are taking a very
solid look at the proposal.
thank the member for the question; it is a very good one. As members would be
aware, there is a federal election in the wind, and there are promises of
funding in different parts of the community. I guess it is part of that process—it
is the season. From that perspective, we welcome the federal government's
proposal to purchase the equipment associated with this particular machine.
Some people have said that this is similar to providing someone with a saddle,
but no horse. I think I have made similar comments in the media recently. Of
course it is one thing to buy the equipment and machinery, which in this case
is around $6 million, is it, member?
Ms M.J. Davies : It is $6.6
million.
Mr R.H. COOK : That is a great
opportunity. But of course the lion's share of the expense associated
with this sort of equipment is the bunker or the housing that we have to put it
in, and of course the recurrent costs associated with running it. Our most
recent experience in terms of funding the construction of a bunker for this
sort of equipment was around $14 million, which was the experience back in 2009
in Bunbury. Of course, on top of that we have the very expensive processes of
funding the ongoing use of the equipment. The offer is welcome, and we are looking
very closely at it. I have asked the department to analyse it and make sure,
one, that it makes sense for the people of Albany that we are putting precious
health resources into establishing the scanner in that community; and, two,
that we can afford it.
In answer to the member's
question about when will we be putting out a tender, we are a long way away
from that, but, as I committed in the media last week, we are taking a very
solid look at the proposal.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.