See the pictures: Cancer Council SA’s new $30m HQ and accommodation lodge to go ahead
Cancer Council SA’s new $30m headquarters and 120-bedroom accommodation lodge will go ahead with $10m State Government support.
SA News
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The State Government will chip in $10m toward Cancer Council SA’s planned new $30.3m headquarters and accommodation lodge for cancer patient families, citing the economic stimulus of 160 jobs including 83 during construction as a factor in the decision.
The building will be constructed on the Council’s office site at 202 Greenhill Rd at Eastwood with work expected to start in the first quarter of next year and be complete by 2022.
The 120-bedroom lodge will replace two existing lodges which also had 120 beds and provided 33,000 patient beds nights last financial year for families travelling to Adelaide for cancer treatment.
Council chairwoman Karlene Maywald said the project for a new “home away from home” lodge with the latest facilities and amenities for rural and regional families had been on the drawing board for eight years.
She noted that fundraising from usual functions had been difficult this year due to the pandemic.
“We are finally in a position to go ahead during this COVID time,” she said.
“This would not be possible without the generous support of the state government.”
In May, advertiser.com.au reported the Council warned the project may be scrapped unless it received state government support.
Cancer Council’s Flinders Lodge on Dequetteville Tce, Kent Town and Greenhill Lodge next to its existing headquarters — both on prime parcels of land opposite the parklands — will be sold to help fund the project but will not close until the new building is ready.
Premier Steven Marshall said the two existing lodges had provided great service but were “well past their use-by date.”
“I hope this facility will resemble a real home away from home for the thousands of regional South Australians who have no other option but to travel to Adelaide for their treatment,” he said.
Health and Wellbeing Minister Stephen Wade said the two existing lodges are in constant need of repair and maintenance which affects the number of rooms available.
“The Marshall Liberal Government is committed to fighting cancer and closing the gap in cancer outcomes between the city and country,” he said.
The new centre will have onsite parking, free transport to treatment centres, communal kitchens, an activity hub staffed by volunteers, access to social workers, family rooms and play spaces, culturally appropriate accommodation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, an information resource area and quiet spaces.
The building will also be the home of Cancer Council SA’s new headquarters for its support and information services, counselling services, prevention activities, intervention programs and behavioural research team.
Office staff will be moved to temporary accommodation while the new headquarters is built.
On Monday, worried parents children with cancer told the State Government that they were being cared for in an overflow ward at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital by nurses who lack specialist training.
Thirty-three parents put their names to a letter to Health Minister Stephen Wade and Premier Stephen Marshall, calling for action.
