Labor's radiotherapy commitment 'completely ignorant or completely misleading': Hazzard

Gilmore MP Fiona Phillips announced the $8 million promise if Labor wins the federal election in Moruya last week - $5m to build the physical infrastructure and $3m for a linear accelerator, a specialised cancer treatment machine.

Mr Hazzard said the Labor promise showed "either a complete ignorance of what's really required to care for patients who need radiation oncology therapy, or [was] completely misleading".

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He said the NSW government had tried, through a tender process, to attract the high-level radiation oncology specialists to the Eurobodalla to provide their services to local patients, however these efforts were unsuccessful because of the relatively small number of patients the specialist would see.

He said the only way radiotherapy services would be viable was to have a specialist from another facility work in the Eurobodalla one or two days per week.

"These specialists need to have practice numbers that provide safety and quality for the patients, and that isn't delivered simply by providing a physical building or a linear accelerator," he said.

He said the announcement was "creating false hope for patients".

However NSW Shadow health minister Ryan Park said radiation therapy providers offered safe radiation oncology services to areas equal to, or smaller than, the NSW south coast.

Mr Park said the south coast was no different from regions such as Grafton, Kempsey, Taree and Griffith which received approval for radiotherapy services.

"The radiation therapy providers provide care with the same model of care in other regional areas," he said.

He said there had been no attempt to provide the services from the Liberal Government because radiotherapy services had been rejected by the Southern NSW Local Health District.

Mr Park said the Labor commitment was one of equity for patients on the South Coast.