Push for Limestone Coast radiotherapy services gains momentum as minister commits to "reconsider" feasibility

SA Health Minister Blair Boyer has made a commitment to "reconsider whether radiotherapy could be a feasible option for the Limestone Coast, two years on from a feasibility study deeming the notion "unviable". IMAGE: Blair Boyer MP Facebook

The push to establish radiotherapy services in South Australia’s Limestone Coast has regained momentum, with Health Minister Blair Boyer making a commitment to “reconsider” whether a regional facility could be feasible - and engaging with private providers about its potential delivery.

Speaking with FlowFM's Jessica Dempster on The Country Viewpoint, Limestone Coast Radiotherapy Working Group chair Lachlan Haynes said the group was encouraged by recent discussions with Minister Boyer following his visit to the region earlier this year.

Mr Haynes said the minister had assured the working group he would “look again” at the issue and the possibility of working with private providers to deliver radiotherapy services in the Limestone Coast.

At the start of July, Minister Boyer traveled to Warrnambool with Member for Mount Gambier Travis Fatchen for a tour of the Icon Radiation Therapy Centre, which has provided cancer treatment services in the region for the past decade.

Member for Mount Gambier Travis Fatchen (left), and Chair of the Limestone Coast Radiotherapy Working Group Lachlan Haynes (right). IMAGE: Facebook.

“A few weeks ago, he visited the Warrnambool Icon Centre, which was celebrating its 10 years of successfully treating cancer at Warrnambool, and I believe it was a very successful visit,” Mr Haynes said.

“He’s also had a number of meetings with the two private providers to see if there can be some common ground and work through what the options would be for one of them to provide that service for the people of the Limestone Coast.”

Mr Haynes said the Warrnambool facility provided a strong comparison for the Limestone Coast, given many patients from the region already travel across the Victorian border for treatment.

“We often overlay ourselves as being very similar in Mount Gambier or the Limestone Coast generally to the western part of Victoria where Warrnambool services people,” he said.

“So with those similarities being quite clear we often ask why do they have that service and we don't?”

Group Chair Lachlan Haynes said the Limestone Coast Radiotherapy Working Group greatly appreciated the opportunity to meet with Health Minister Blair Boyer when the Malinauskas Government Country Cabinet visited the region earlier in the year. IMAGE: Facebook.

The Limestone Coast Radiotherapy Working Group has been campaigning for a local regional service for the past three years, with a community petition attracting more than 20,000 signatures in support of the cause.

In 2024, a Limestone Coast Local Health Network feasibility study found a stand-alone radiotherapy service was not viable for the region, citing concerns around workforce availability and financial sustainability - a conclusion that was met with disappointment and disagreement from local advocates.

Mr Haynes said the group remained confident that radiotherapy services could be provided in the region, particularly with government support and private providers already successfully operating regional services elsewhere.

“It’s a really significant move that (Minister Boyer) is willing to keep discussing the issue and also that he would talk to the private providers,” he said.

“We're feeling very confident that at least those discussions are occurring where they were not before."

Mr Haynes said the strength of community support had been central to keeping the issue alive.

“We reminded (Minister Boyer) about the 20,000-plus signatures we had from the region, and the groundswell of support this idea has,” he said.

“With more than 20,000 signatures from a catchment of around 60 to 70,000 people, that’s nearly one in three people supporting the call for the service in our region."

Mr Haynes said a local radiotherapy service would significantly reduce the financial and emotional burden faced by patients who currently travel long distances for treatment.

“Outside of their poor health results from having to travel away and being without their support network, family or their employment, there’s also the extra cost,” he said.

“The people are definitely out of pocket, even when they’re assisted by the government, and on top of that it’s just an extra burden on the health system."

Majority of cancer patients on the Limestone Coast have to travel at least 300 kilometers or more to receive radiation treatment.

He said establishing a service in the Limestone Coast could also deliver savings for government by reducing travel-related costs.

“We’ve often argued that should this be relocated to an area of our Limestone Coast region, there will be synergies and actual savings for the government as well."

Mr Haynes said going forward, the group would continue to advocate for a regional service while discussions between government and private providers continued.

“We’re in there batting on this every day, we’re fighting away,” he said.

“We would encourage all members of the Limestone Coast - and regional and metropolitan South Australians more broadly - to advocate wherever they can and let the Health Minister and the current government know they support the region getting this very important facility."