Fair Go campaign: Territory patients still forced interstate for specialist treatment

FEEL a pain, catch a plane, or so the old Territory saying goes. Despite some improvements in recent years, sick Territorians are still forced to travel interstate for a variety of ailments

Generic of stethoscope.

FEEL a pain, catch a plane, or so the old Territory saying goes.

Despite some improvements in recent years, sick Territorians are still forced to travel interstate for a variety of ailments.

About 250 Territorians travel interstate each year for heart surgery.

While cardiac diagnostic services have improved markedly in the past 15 years, most heart surgeries remain out of reach in the NT.

And a growing and ageing population means demand for local surgery services is only expected to grow.

A proposal to develop a cardiothoracic surgery unit in Darwin has the support of the Heart Foundation NT and the Territory’s leading cardiologist but it remains to been seen whether the political will is there for the project to get off the ground.

Health Minister John Elferink told the NT News last month establishing such a service was nowhere on the government’s radar, while Territory Labor health spokeswoman Lynne Walker said her party would investigate the viability of such a service should they win government in August.

Cancer Council NT information and support services manager Marg Lavery said Territorians still needed to travel interstate for PET scans, some forms of radiation therapy and specialised cancer surgeries, such as those on the head and neck and some kinds of prostate surgery.

The NT is the only Australian jurisdiction without a PET scanner, a diagnostic tool which uses radioactive dyes to track the spread of cancer.

The machines exist in other regional centres around the country including Albury, Cairns, Townsville and Bunbury.

Ms Lavery said the opening of the Alan Walker Cancer Care Centre in 2010 had improved patient outcomes by allowing more to stay at home during treatment.

“Fewer people are wanting to travel interstate because they see the cancer centre here and know that it has a lot of the most up-to-date technologies; people can get the same treatments here and they’re not missing out,” she said.

Being able to access oncology services locally made a big difference to patients lives, she said.

“When I first started in my role, a lot of people would have to go away for six weeks for radiotherapy. That’s six weeks away from their families, from their work, with no friends around. It’s very isolating,” she said.

Staying locally brought cancer patients a sense of normalcy in a time of great upheaval and uncertainty in their lives, she said.

“It can make the experience a bit more normal when they can go and watch the kids play footy or think about what’s for dinner.

“If they’re down south having treatment, for some patients cancer can become their whole lives.”

THE Fair Go campaign is all about voices - your voices. With a third of Aussies living in the regions, speaking up as one will make for a loud conversation that no pollies can ignore; and it’s a great way to offer support and solutions to our brothers and sisters nationwide.

Join the Fair Go conversation on Facebook or Twitter using #FairGo and jump on the Fair Go campaign Facebook page for more info.