A patient has highlighted the lack of access to out-of-pocket radiation therapy in the Midland area by sharing his four-hour e-bike journey to Nedlands and back again to access treatment for throat cancer.
“It makes very little sense to me that there’s a perfectly good hospital [St John of God Midland Public Hospital] seven kilometres from my door that isn’t being used to its full potential,” Thomas said in his YouTube video shared online.
He is not the only person to highlight the issue. Medical practitioners working in the Midland area have raised the issue with AMA (WA).
They are concerned that without access to nearby, fully bulk billed radiation therapy services, cancer patients in the area are facing even greater challenges at an already stressful time in their lives.
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AMA(WA) president Dr Michael Page said while the issue had been raised by members working in the Midland area, it highlighted what he called an “equity issue” across Perth.
“There are very few places where fully bulk billed radiation therapy is available in Perth,” he said.
A mix of public and private radiation therapy services are available across the metropolitan area, with the State’s only fully public radiation therapy clinic in Nedlands.
Respiratory physician Dr David Manners, who treats lung cancer patients, said the financial and logistical barriers for Midland patients, especially at such a stressful time in their lives, are unacceptable.
“Patients who live in Midland, the Hills, or Ellenbrook have a choice: either they choose to have their treatment locally here in Midland and may experience a gap of several hundred dollars, or they have to travel to Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, with the added inconvenience,” Dr Manners said.
“It’s not fair that patients in our area have to face that choice.”
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According to the AMA(WA) there are a few ways radiation therapy could be provided to patients locally without having them pay for the service themselves.
It suggested the WA Government could solve the issue by fully funding public patient access to private radiation therapy clinics, rather than relying on partial funding from the Federal Government by Medicare and partial funding from out-of-pocket costs.
Alternatively, the Federal Government could grant an exemption allowing the State to top up Medicare-funded treatment costs at public hospitals, such as St John of God Midland, which is otherwise prohibited under law.
The Federal Government could also index Medicare rebates for radiation therapy to cover the full cost of treatment.
A public private partnership between the State Government and Icon Cancer Centre in Rockingham has seen patients in that area able to access their treatment locally without being left out of pocket.
That same cancer care provider has a private clinic in Midland that offers radiation therapy where patients pay the gap not covered by Medicare.
Icon Cancer Centre WA State Manager Colin La Galia told Medical Forum that Icon Cancer Centre is part of a consortium involved in ongoing discussions with the State Government about a public private partnership arrangement in Midland.
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In the meantime, patients like Thomas may continue to have added travel time to access radiation therapy.
Thomas told those watching his videos that he is trying to make the most of the scenery along his journey.
“It’s a really nice experience, but it would be so much more convenient to have radiation and the chemotherapy in Midland,” he said.
Minister for Health Amber Jade Sanderson’s office was contacted for comment, but given the Cabinet had not yet re-formed her office would not provide comment on this matter.
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