The Cancer Council Australia has welcomed the Federal Opposition's plan to strengthen primary healthcare and chronic disease prevention, announced today in Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd’s ‘New Directions for Australia’s Health’ policy.
Cancer Council Australia Chief Executive Officer, Professor Ian Olver, said the Opposition should be commended for identifying the significant potential to reduce the impact of cancer in Australia through enhanced prevention and primary care.
“The Opposition’s policy reflects growing evidence of the enormous potential gains to be made through improved cancer prevention in Australia,” Professor Olver said.
“Australia is acknowledged as a world leader in tobacco control, yet still almost one in five of us is at serious risk of cancer because they smoke.
“We have a spiralling obesity epidemic that threatens to cause a major future increase in the number of cancers diagnosed in Australia, at a time when we will be addressing the challenges of an ageing population.
“While there has been a gradual shift towards improved chronic disease prevention in the general practice setting, for example, we still fall well short of our capacity to prevent cancer through primary health care or detect it early to improve patient outcomes.
“The Opposition’s plan has the potential to provide a framework to reduce Australia’s future cancer burden by investing substantial additional funds into cancer prevention through the healthcare agreements and enhancing the role of primary health care.”
Professor Olver said he also welcomed the Opposition’s acknowledgement that significant reform in the health workforce is required to ensure we meet future health care needs.
“As a non-partisan, community-based organisation, The Cancer Council Australia will be calling on all federal MPs to support evidence-based measures to reduce the impact of cancer in Australia across the cancer control spectrum.”
Media contacts:
Glen Turner 0412 443 212 glen.turner@cancer.org.au