Outsourced gynaecology cancer clinic will continue as long as needed in ACT: health authorities

A regular gynaecology oncology clinic in the ACT offered in partnership with a Sydney hospital will continue as long as is required until a permanent service can be established at Canberra Hospital, health authorities have said. Health authorities expect expanding the service locally will eventually provide an opportunity to attract staff to develop a local permanent service. A sub-specialist surgeon began the regular outpatient clinic at the hospital this week, and will also provide follow-up telehealth clinics between visits to Canberra. Associate Professor Ramanand Athavale, who is the clinical director of the gynaecological oncoloogy service at Sydney's Royal Hospital for Women, will visit the ACT each month for an all-day operating list, a multidisciplinary team meeting, ward rounds and an outpatient clinic. "I look forward to working with this great team of professionals and supporting the quality treatment and care they are already providing to the community," Professor Athavale said. A spokeswoman for Canberra Health Services said the agreement with the Royal Women's hospital would remain in place as long as required and could be extended. "As the service expands, it can cater for more women who would otherwise have to travel to Sydney to be seen locally. A small number of women who require more complex surgery will still have to travel to Sydney," the spokeswoman said. "As the workload expands locally and more capacity is built in terms of more clinics and operating theatre time being made available, there is an opportunity to attract staff to develop a permanent service in the ACT." ACT Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said Professor Athavale would make a strong contribution in Canberra while the government's national recruitment process continued to find a permanent Canberra-based sub-specialist. "The ACT government is committed to operating a permanent and sustainable gynaecology oncology service in the ACT. This includes expanding our specialist nursing workforce for cancer care with two new full-time positions in the Cancer Supportive Care Team," Ms Stephen-Smith said. "The dedicated colorectal and gynaecological cancer specialist nurses will provide direct patient care, care coordination and navigation, support and education to patients undergoing surgery and cancer treatment." The government committed $1.33 million over four years in the mid-year budget review for two new colorectal and gynaecological cancer specialist nurses. Canberra Health Services recruited for a gynaecological oncologist last year but only offered the successful candidate one full day of surgery a month. The candidate, Dr Leon Foster, asked whether this could be extended but the service was not forthcoming and said he was forced to decline the offer. Gynaecology oncology is a rare subspecialty, with only about 60 specialists in Australia. Fewer than five specialists applied for the position last year, Canberra Health Services has said. The Royal Hospital for Women has provided a fortnightly clinic to Canberra for about three decades, but documents released to The Canberra Times show doctors raised concerns the workload in the territory was "placing a strain on the friendship". Ms Stephen-Smith in August 2022 announced the territory government intended to establish a permanent gynaecology oncology cancer unit in Canberra. MORE HEALTH NEWS: "The government remains committed to expanding gynaecological oncology services in the ACT and is working to deliver on this commitment as soon as possible, in line with the ACT Health services plan," Ms Stephen-Smith said in December, after the first recruitment process fell through. More than 1700 people signed a petition in 2022 calling for a permanent surgery unit, so those with gynaecological cancers were not forced to travel to Sydney for gruelling surgeries. Doctors had been lobbying the ACT government for three years for a permanent unit. We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on The Canberra Times website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. See our moderation policy here. Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: