Construction begins on $17m Murdoch hospital oncology facility

2 Sep 2020

A sod turning event was held this week to mark the start of construction.

The private radiation oncology facility in Perth’s southern metropolitan area will have capacity to treat up to 1,000 cancer patients a year and will be fully integrated into the Murdoch Hospital.

The new facility is the result of a partnership between Centuria Healthcare, St John of God Murdoch Hospital, and GenesisCare; Australia’s leading provider of radiation therapy services.

The building will be developed and owned by the Australasian real estate funds manager, Centuria Healthcare, expanding its existing healthcare presence in Western Australia.

In addition to radiation oncology, the facility will also offer ground-breaking theranostics and nuclear medicine services and will house the latest molecular imaging equipment, such as PET-CT and SPECT-CT, critical for directing and monitoring new targeted molecular therapies.

St John of God Murdoch Hospital and GenesisCare recognised a gap in the delivery of cancer services in the local area and have pursued this opportunity to ensure patients receive access to the highest quality of care closer to home.

St John of God Murdoch Hospital Medical Oncologist and Head of Department for Oncology, Haematology and Palliative Care, Associate Professor Kynan Feeney, said that the radiation bunker was an exciting step towards enhanced patient care.

“Along with the oncology services already provided in our Cancer Centre, access to radiation oncology, theranostics and new technology, including a PET-CT and SPECT-CT, will create integrated care in the one location,” he said.

“Patients who are too unwell to travel, including the many patients who receive palliative care at the St John of God Murdoch Community Hospice, will soon be able to easily access all of their treatment onsite at Murdoch.”

“Our medical oncologists and staff, who already work closely with GenesisCare’s radiation oncologists, will work even more collaboratively to ensure patients receive comprehensive, integrated and coordinated care.”

The cost of radiation therapy treatment will be largely covered by Medicare.

GenesisCare’s Acting General Manager for oncology in WA, Louise Coffey, said: “We are proud to be collaborating with St John of God Murdoch on this exciting project to establish the first private, integrated, hospital-based radiation oncology, nuclear medicine and theranostics facility south of the river.”

“The partnership aims to provide patients with rapid access to the latest treatment, techniques, diagnostics, PET CT and clinical research, including access to innovative theranostic treatments.”

Centuria Healthcare Managing Director, Andrew Hemming, said “We are delighted to be partnering with St John of God Murdoch Hospital and GenesisCare to deliver this state-of-the-art oncology facility for the Perth community.” 

“We focus on acquiring healthcare assets that provide cost-efficient models of care, especially those that deliver complementary services within a single premise that are convenient and well-located for patients. When this oncology unit is completed, we believe it will be a gamechanger for local cancer patients. The facility will expand our Western Australian portfolio, which includes a number of hospitals, medical centres and aged care properties.”  

St John of God Murdoch Hospital Chief Executive Officer, Ben Edwards, said this integrated facility will be a very important new service. 

“The new radiation oncology service on site will create a real hub in Murdoch for comprehensive cancer treatment, and further cements us as the leading private healthcare provider south of Perth,” he said.

“We are pleased that we will be able to alleviate some of the demand for high quality private radiation therapy services in the local area by providing rapid access to the latest treatment techniques.”

“We are endeavouring to minimise the impact of construction on our hospital with the main works scheduled to take place over the summer holidays. We thank the community in advance for their patience to deliver this very important facility.”

GenesisCare Radiation Oncologist and Head of Department, Dr Tee Lim, said “This new facility will offer patients access to the latest techniques in radiation therapy, including volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT), deep inspiration breath hold (DIBH) and stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT).

“Theranostics, an innovative way of delivering targeted radiation to cancer cells, will also be available as part of the new comprehensive cancer service. This personalised approach to cancer therapy will be offered to suitable patients and will include lutetium-based therapies for prostate cancer, neuroendocrine tumours and other tumour types in the future,” said Dr Lim.

In addition to treatment services, GenesisCare will build on a local track record of innovation in theranostics by establishing a clinical research facility aimed at bringing new therapies to market.

Preliminary works are now underway, with services due to open by early 2022.

About St John of God Murdoch Hospital

St John of God Murdoch Hospital, part of St John of God Health Care, is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to furthering the values and healing mission of Jesus Christ.

The hospital was established in 1994, provides comprehensive, quality health services for patients in Perth’s southern suburbs and is now one of Australia’s leading private health campuses.

The broader campus has 507 beds including a 20-bed hospice, a 24-hour emergency department, 20-chair Cancer Centre, and a wide range of clinical and diagnostic services including medical, surgical, paediatric, maternity, and critical and coronary care.

For more information about St John of God Murdoch Hospital please visit: https://www.sjog.org.au/our-locations/st-john-of-god-murdoch-hospital

About GenesisCare

GenesisCare has been providing high quality oncology services to West Australians for more than 30 years. More than 250 doctors, nurses, engineers, physicists, radiation therapists and practice support team members deliver care at five locations in West Australia: Bunbury, Fiona Stanley Hospital, Joondalup, Mandurah and Wembley.

GenesisCare delivers treatment to people with cancer and heart disease, the two largest disease burdens globally. We are committed to leading the change in how care is designed and given, and are currently leading or participating in more than 100 clinical trials. The organisation employs more than 2,500 highly trained healthcare professionals and support staff across Australia, Europe and now China, including some of the world’s most experienced specialists. Every year GenesisCare clinical teams see more than 160,000 people at more than 130 locations. For cancer treatment, this includes 12 centres in the UK, 21 in Spain and 30 in Australia, and more than 20 new centres are under development. We also offer cardiology and sleep services at over 80 locations across Australia.

Our purpose is to design care experiences that get the best possible life outcomes. We believe that care should be focused on the individual, not the condition. We are proud of our patient satisfaction ratings, which place us in the top one per cent of outpatient healthcare organisations in the world. For more information visit www.genesiscare.com

About Theranostics at GenesisCare

Theranostics Australia launched in 2015 as the first private theranostics provider in Australia and became ‘GenesisCare’ in 2018. The theranostics team is committed to continuously developing and using targeted molecular diagnostic imaging and therapeutic agents for the diagnosis and treatment of cancers, with a focus on cancers which are difficult to treat or are becoming resistant to conventional therapies. Theranostics treatment is currently available at Waratah Private Hospital in Hurstville (NSW), Hollywood Private Hospital in Perth (WA), GenesisCare Chermside in Brisbane (QLD), South Coast Radiology on the Gold Coast (QLD), and at GenesisCare in Windsor and Oxford (UK).

For more information visit www.genesiscare.com/au/treatment/cancer/theranostics/

About Centuria Healthcare

Centuria Healthcare is part of the wider Centuria Capital Group (ASX: CNI), which has a collective $9.4 billion of assets under management. Centuria Healthcare is a specialist funds manager of healthcare real estate assets across Australia, with a portfolio of 50 high-quality assets worth a collective $700m and a $300m pipeline of real estate acquisitions. As at 30 June 2020, it manages 10 unlisted funds in addition to servicing a $500m mandate with AXA IM and Grosvenor Group. Nationwide, Centuria Healthcare actively partners with providers to deliver efficient, cost-effective healthcare facilities, including developing and funding new assets.