For Immediate Release

April 1, 2005

McGUINTY GOVERNMENT IMPROVING CANCER CARE IN KINGSTON
Investing in Cancer Centre of Southeastern Ontario at Kingston General Hospital

KINGSTON – The McGuinty government is improving access to cancer services in the Kingston area by investing $4.2 million in the planning and design for the redevelopment of the Cancer Centre of Southeastern Ontario at Kingston General Hospital, John Gerretsen, MPP for Kingston and The Islands announced today on behalf of Ontario’s Health and Long-Term Care Minister George Smitherman.

“Kingston-area residents who need cancer services are now one step closer to receiving them,” said Gerretsen. “They will be able to stay closer to home when receiving treatments, avoiding the lengthy drives and overnight stays that come with being treated at other cancer centres in the province.”

The redeveloped Cancer Centre will be able to accommodate five linear accelerators, which are used for radiation therapy, and there will be additional space for chemotherapy treatments and clinical follow-up.

It is expected that at full capacity the Cancer Centre will serve up to 1,950 radiation therapy patients and 1,400 chemotherapy patients each year, accommodating service demands in the area until 2014.

“This is great news for people in the Kingston area,” said Joe de Mora, President and CEO of Kingston General Hospital. A redeveloped regional cancer centre will meet the needs of cancer patients into the future and will attract and retain scarce physician resources.”

“Our government is meeting the increasing demand for cancer care services all across this province,” Smitherman said. “Building more capacity to treat cancer patients means they will get the care they need when they need it.”

Planning and design grants assist hospitals in developing capital projects throughout the planning and design stages. This approach to capital funding for hospitals will result in more reliable project cost estimates.

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