A PROSTATE cancer advocate has claimed the decision behind Murrumbidgee Local Health District (MLHD) being denied a specialist nurse for the second consecutive year was political and lacked transparency.
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The federal government committed $6.2 million to fund 14 specialist prostate cancer nurses, appointed by an independent selection panel under the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia (PCFA).
MLHD was one of 35 applicants for the Prostate Cancer Nurse Initiative, an extension of the pilot program currently run through the PCFA and the Movember Foundation.
Bunbury, Adelaide, Mornington Peninsula, Ballarat, Geelong, Melbourne (Footscray), Mildura, Sydney (North Ryde and Kogarah), Port Macquarie, Orange, Cairns, Rockhampton and Brisbane (Greenslopes) were the 14 successful applicants this time round.
Wagga's Bob Bowcher, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer 11 years ago, is frustrated the MLHD didn't get a look-in, despite having a 28 per cent higher risk of prostate cancer than the state average, accoring to the Cancer Council.
He claimed decisions were made on a political basis in the interest of marginal electorates and questioned why other health districts were more deserving.
"Absolutely, it's definitely political," he said.
"It's shocking.
"It's terrible, social injustice."
Mr Bowcher said the funding was initially started to fund specialist nurses in regional and remote areas to bridge the gap between the higher rate of incidence outside metropolitan areas.
He questioned why Geelong, for example, would receive a nurse given it was only 75km from Melbourne and pondered if it coincided with the closure of the Ford factory.
Similarly, he suggested Orange was successful because the federal member for Calare John Cobb was "on the nose" with his electorate because they were shutting down the Email Factory and needed "brownie points".
Mr Bowcher went on to suggest Ballarat's bid was successful because it fell under shadow health minister Catherine King's electorate.
Mr Bowcher said the process was deceitful because positions were signed off on and publicly advertised weeks ago, but the federal health minister Hon Peter Dutton only announced Thursday which applications were successful.
Mr Bowcher went on to question why specialist prostate cancer nurses received less funding than breast cancer nurses, highlighting Wagga had its second Jane McGrath Foundation nurse instated last year.
"I wouldn't deny a McGrath nurse," he clarified.
"The mistake I made, I never lobbied hard enough," Mr Bowcher said.
"Yes, absolutely I was confident.
"I thought we had nine a out of 10 chance we were going to get it.
"My problem was I was probably too confident."
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