Noosa, Queensland – Representing a significant advance in cancer care for the Sunshine Coast community, GenesisCare today announced construction is scheduled to commence on its modern cancer care centre in Noosaville in early October.
Aiming to offer access to high-quality cancer care services including radiation therapy and allied healthcare services to the local Noosa community and surrounding region by early to mid-2024, the new centre will mark the establishment of the organisation’s third centre on the Sunshine Coast in 23 years.
The GenesisCare team today hosted a site visit with Noosa Council Mayor Clare Stewart, plus representatives from developer Dexus, and construction company, Erilyan, in attendance.
The new GenesisCare centre will be situated at 90 Goodchap Street, Noosaville (based at Noosa Medical and Professional Centre) and will be the closest cancer care centre to Noosa Hospital, located just 500 metres away.
Once operating at full capacity, the new GenesisCare cancer care centre aims to offer high-quality radiation oncology treatment to over 500 patients annually while creating new jobs for radiation therapists, oncology nurses, medical physicists, allied health professionals, and patient service officers in the Sunshine Coast community.
With a site area of over 700m², the multimillion-dollar development project by Dexus, in partnership with GenesisCare and constructed by Erilyan, will comprise a purpose-built radiation therapy bunker and new medical fit-out complimented by 10 allocated parking bays.
The increase in cancer care services accessible to the Sunshine Coast is particularly important considering the demographics of this rapidly expanding area. Given Noosa’s median age exceeds that of Queensland’s by a decade, the healthcare needs of this population have become increasingly pertinent.1,2 In addition, the cancer incidence on the Sunshine Coast is above the Queensland average with 100 more cases per 100,000 people.3,4
GenesisCare Radiation Oncologists, Dr Debra Furniss and Dr Bradley Wong, have both run regular, in-person clinics for many years serving Noosa residents, and have longstanding relationships with local specialists and GPs.
Dr Furniss joined today’s site visit, sharing that the new Noosa centre will help to enable local patients to receive a range of cancer care services close to home, as well as helping support patients in the Gympie region who will no longer need to fly to Brisbane nor drive for more than two hours (round trip) to the Sunshine Coast for their cancer treatment.
“We are looking forward to furthering our relationship with the local Noosa community. Our new centre will support and complement the range of existing pathology, radiology, pharmacy, and allied health services offered at Noosa Hospital.
“Our aim is to offer personalised cancer care services delivered by a multidisciplinary team of compassionate healthcare professionals, utilising advanced treatment techniques and precision medicine, and designed to achieve the best possible clinical outcomes,” said Dr Furniss.
According to Steve Nguyen, General Manager, Queensland at GenesisCare, the new Noosa centre will bolster the organisation’s ongoing commitment and dedication to delivering modern cancer care services to the Queensland community.
“Receiving a cancer diagnosis and treatment can be a stressful and challenging time for patients and their families. Knowing that dedicated and experienced cancer care is available close to home will hopefully be a big relief to both patients and their loved ones.
“With a capacity of more than 500 patients per year, the centre will offer access to evidence-based cancer care services including radiation therapy and allied health support,” Mr Nguyen said.
“We are proud to be continuing to grow our services on the Sunshine Coast. We opened our Nambour centre in 2001 and Buderim in 2019, and are now aiming to open Noosa in 2024.”
GenesisCare’s Vice President Site Development, Charles Wheeler shared: “This exciting development in Noosa would not be possible without the continued partnerships of both Dexus and Erilyan, enabling us to move into this market with the aim of helping to provide locals and team members with a much-needed service in a relatively short space of time.
“GenesisCare continues to grow its footprint striving to offer market-leading services and developments.”
For more information about the GenesisCare, Noosa centre head to: www.genesiscare.com/au/our-centres/noosa
