RICHARD KING, HOST: The Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia was rocked when Mark Butler, our Health Minister, alongside our Special Envoy for Men’s Health, Dan Repacholi, recently announced that funding for its specialist prostate cancer nurses would be transferred to the McGrath Foundation. The chair of the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia, Steve Callister, said the organisation had received no warning.
STEVE CALLISTER, CHAIR, PROSTATE CANCER FOUNDATION OF AUSTRALIA: We were shocked. We’d had no notice and, of course, it’s very disturbing. This is a very specialised service around Australia, and apparently it will be affected dramatically.
KING: For more on that, joining me now is the Member for Hunter and Federal Special Envoy for Men’s Health, Dan Repacholi, who is on the line. Good morning, Dan.
DAN REPACHOLI MP, FEDERAL MEMBER FOR HUNTER AND SPECIAL ENVOY FOR MEN’S HEALTH: Good morning, Richard, and good morning, listeners. A pleasure to be with you, as always.
KING: Good to talk. You wanted to clarify a few issues about this transfer of funding from the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia to the McGrath Foundation, Dan.
REPACHOLI: Most certainly, I do. Let’s be very clear: prostate cancer nurses are not being defunded. The current four-year contract with PCFA runs from 2023 to 2027. When that contract finishes, the Australian Government will continue to fund prostate cancer nurses, but that will be done through the McGrath Foundation. No organisation is guaranteed to receive funding indefinitely.
We have decided to bring the prostate cancer nurses into line with the other areas of cancer nursing we fund, including lung, melanoma, skin, breast, brain, liver and blood cancers, under the one banner of the McGrath Foundation. Honestly, I’m looking forward to it. The McGrath Foundation does great work. It does absolutely fantastic work in this space.
We’re still investing the same amount of money: $46.5 million over the next five years to fund the same number of prostate cancer nurse positions across Australia that we currently fund. There is no change there.
KING: What’s the reason for putting it all under the McGrath Foundation umbrella, Dan?
REPACHOLI: There is good reason to do this: continuity of care and making sure the care is consistent across the country. We’re changing the model so that one provider delivers this care across those other cancers as well. The McGrath Foundation, as you and every Australian know, does a bloody amazing job. It really does.
That’s not taking anything away from PCFA, because it has done a great job in this space for many years. We’ve just changed the way it’s happening and the way the funding will go to the McGrath Foundation instead of PCFA. PCFA will continue to provide specialist support for men living beyond prostate cancer, including through its survivorship work, which will continue to receive government funding as well.
KING: Is it true, as we just heard Steve say, that there was no consultation with his group before the funding was transferred to the McGrath Foundation?
REPACHOLI: There are two different sides to the story, as we hear with everything. The Cancer Council has been in conversations with the McGrath Foundation and PCFA for many months. They can say they haven’t been consulted, but conversations have taken place.
At the end of the day, no organisation is guaranteed to receive the funding. I can understand why PCFA is upset, because I would be too if I had that funding for four or five years and then it was moved to another group. But it’s about making sure blokes get the best care they can when they hear those terrible words: ‘You’ve got cancer.’
KING: I spoke yesterday with Anne Savage, the CEO of the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia. Her concern was that the McGrath Foundation cancer nurses might not have the expertise that the nurses currently employed by PCFA have. Would you like to comment on that, Dan?
REPACHOLI: Every one of those PCFA nurses currently funded under this model will have the opportunity to move across and work with the McGrath Foundation. Every single one of them will have that opportunity. For anyone to say otherwise is quite disappointing.
Let’s be honest, cancer care nurses do the best work. They get the best training and advice to make sure they’re having the right conversations not only with cancer patients, but also with their families, friends and the other people who matter in their lives. To say those nurses aren’t highly skilled enough is pretty disappointing, to be perfectly honest.
KING: I appreciate your time this morning, as always, Dan. Enjoy the rest of your day. Dan Repacholi, Labor’s Federal Member for Hunter and Special Envoy for Men’s Health. I think we’ve hopefully covered both sides of the story there.