Wednesday, 11 September 2024

 Jade BENHAM (Mildura) (19:00): (831) My adjournment matter this evening is for the Minister for Health, and the action I seek is urgent intervention on the delayed Victorian patient transport assistance scheme reimbursement payments for Sunraysia Cancer Resources, leaving them with dwindling operating capital, putting lives at risk. Sunraysia Cancer Resources are a not-for-profit organisation. They rely heavily on volunteers, fundraising and donations. Their major fundraiser, the Pink Ball, is coming up on 12 October. Unfortunately I cannot get there, because I will be running the Melbourne half marathon the next day. The main body of work that they do is that they book and pay for flights for Sunraysia cancer patients to access treatments that are not currently available in Mildura. Having said that, we have an Icon Cancer Centre; there are a lot of things you can access in Mildura. But we are desperately in need of a PET scanner so that this amount of travel is unnecessary. They do not receive recurrent funding, like I said, despite the fabulous work that they do with people to help them out on their cancer journey, particularly when they are first diagnosed.

The Victorian patient transport assistance scheme reimbursements that remain outstanding, some still left over from last financial year, are $144,056.14. The key messages on the VPTAS website state payments might take up to six to eight weeks from receipt. All sections of the claim form must be completed. They do all that; this is their bread and butter. Many of these invoices have been outstanding for over six months. This has left Sunraysia Cancer Resources with very, very little money in the bank. When a return flight from Mildura to Melbourne can be north of $3000 because of the skyrocketing costs of airfares – you cannot put them on a train; you do not have one. You cannot put them on a bus. Honestly, if you are suffering from any illness, particularly one that compromises your immune system, your oncologist does not want you sitting on a bus for 14½ hours. Flight is the only way to go about it. And there is no public transport to and from the airport. Being left with less money than is needed to book the next patient’s treatment travel is putting lives at risk, and I urgently seek that the Minister for Health intervene and make sure these outstanding reimbursement invoices are paid immediately.