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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2010-07-20 Daily Xml
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BREASTSCREEN SA

Dr McFETRIDGE (Morphett) (15:11): My question is to the Minister for Health. Can the minister assure the house and South Australian women that there will be no cuts to BreastScreen SA services or funding in the 2010-11 budget? On ABC Radio this morning Matthew Abraham read from a leaked document that outlined five options for breast cancer screening programs conducted by BreastScreen SA. The document listed the impacts on undetected cancers. Option 1 estimated 12 undetected breast cancers, option 2 estimated four undetected, option 3 estimated eight undetected, option 4 estimated 16 undetected and option 5 estimated 19 undetected breast cancers. The document also states there were 434 cancers detected by breast screening in 2008-09.

The Hon. J.D. HILL (Kaurna—Minister for Health, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Minister for the Southern Suburbs, Minister Assisting the Premier in the Arts) (15:12): As members would be aware, BreastScreen SA is one of the state's most revered and respected health services. It is part of the SA Department of Health. For more than two decades this service has been providing life-saving early detection for women through its breast cancer screening program. A recent report celebrating BreastScreen's 20-year history revealed that women who have regular screening mammograms through this service have reduced their risk of dying from breast cancer by more than 40 per cent, so it is a high-achieving organisation.

Participation in screening rates for women aged 50 to 69 in South Australia are the highest in the nation. It is certainly our ambition to maintain that rate. South Australia's invasive breast cancer detection rate is the second highest in the nation. We are just pipped by the ACT, as I understand it. BreastScreen SA is continuing to expand and improve its service and is planning for the rollout of digitised mammography. Digitisation is the next breakthrough in mammography, moving from the wet imaging process to the digitised process.

In 2008-09 the state government committed $2.1 million to replace two BreastScreen SA country mobile units and to incorporate digital mammography technology. Those two units should be online very shortly. This technology allows more women to receive mammograms and provides better detection for younger women. From 2007-08 the Department of Health increased BreastScreen SA's recurrent funding by $950,000. Through the extra funding BreastScreen SA is aiming to increase the rate of participation by women.

As members would know, the state government is building a new GP Plus Health Care Centre at Elizabeth. This will be a one-stop shop providing a range of services to the local community, aimed at keeping people healthy and out of hospital. Included in the service is a breast screen facility, enabling women in the northern suburbs to have breast screening at a state-of-the-art new facility. Digital mammography will be incorporated into this new centre.

As I understand it, today an internal document prepared by BreastScreen staff for BreastScreen managers was reported on in the media, which the member for Morphett has just referred to. This document suggests or canvasses a range of options for the funding of the BreastScreen services at the Elizabeth Centre in the introduction of the digitisation process there. This internal document had not previously been sent up to the Department of Health—it was a working document within that area—nor, I can assure the house, to me.

Mrs Redmond interjecting:

The Hon. J.D. HILL: Well, I say to the Leader of the Opposition that I'm trying to provide factual information to the member. If she would like to ask me any subsequent questions, I would be more than happy to answer them. I am advised that the Department of Health and the Adelaide Health Service have been working with BreastScreen SA to ensure that the service is funded properly and is operational.

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