Tuesday, 14 October 2025

 Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (18:29): (1982) My adjournment matter this evening is for the Minister for Health, and the action I seek is the minister’s assurance that the public waiting list for breast cancer surgery at Albury Wodonga Health will not be negatively impacted by the board’s decision to terminate one of only two surgeons operating in this very important space. Dr John Stuchbery has been caring for women with breast cancer in Albury–Wodonga for the best part of 27 years. About eight weeks ago the board terminated his visiting medical officer contract, his VMO contract, which takes effect in just over a month. He says the decision will punish Albury–Wodonga patients. Dr Stuchbery says breast cancer patients will take longer to get an appointment and longer to get the surgery they need. He believes many will have to travel to Melbourne for treatment, and that is completely unacceptable given the government’s commitment to have care closer to home. Albury Wodonga Health has close to 3000 people on the public surgery waitlist. In fact I am told that even category 2 colonoscopies are not getting seen in the 90-day recommended timeframes – it has blown out to 300 days. These waitlists are not only blowing out in time, they are blowing out in numbers. We cannot have women requiring breast surgery waiting for extended periods either. Almost one in four waits for more than a year for treatment, and that is the worst in the state.

The health service is also dumping its public–private partnership at its cancer centre in favour of a purely public model, a centre that is a regional leader in patient outcomes. I have had very good discussions with doctors around the excellent care that the cancer centre provides, and yet this government’s ideological push to take over is not going to have the best outcomes for Victorians in this region. Dr Stuchbery was one of 206 doctors who signed a recent letter to the Prime Minister and Victorian Premier opposing what they say is a flawed project that has now been gutted by cost cutting. On Monday the Australian Medical Association met with senior hospital clinicians, including surgeons, anaesthetists, physicians, and a rehabilitation and staff specialist. It follows the AMA having supported Dr Stuchbery and what has been reported as its concerns about the administration of the twin cities’ hospital set-up. The local border community rightly expects assurances that services will not be compromised by Dr Stuchbery’s termination. The minister needs to tell the people of the border community that not one extra person will be added to the cancer surgery waiting list. She also needs to provide assurances that no more will be gutted from the redevelopment at Albury hospital. In addition to losing the car park, already gone is the helipad, while there are ghost wards, ghost floors and ghost operating theatres that will not be fitted out under the ever-shrinking budget. This is an important issue that goes to the heart of delivering services into local communities, and the minister needs to have those assurances since the VMO contract has been cut for Dr Stuchbery.