Page 3140 - Week 09 - Thursday, 13 October 2022
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Health—radiation therapy
(Question No 906)
Ms Castley asked the Minister for Health, upon notice, on 23 September 2022:
(1) In relation to part (6) of question on notice No 20 from the Select Committee on Estimates 2022-2023 process, how many of the 117 palliative care patients were previously on more than one dose of radiation therapy.
(2) Was there a change in radiation therapy for the remaining 71 patients; if so, were these patients receiving more than one dose; if not, why did their therapy not change.
(3) Are the 117 patients still receiving a single dose with the addition of a linear accelerator machine; if so, how many have changed their dose and have they increased.
(4) Has there been any complaints from patients who have had their dose changed; if so, how many.
Ms Stephen-Smith: The answer to the member’s question is as follows:
(1) Radiation Therapy is typically prescribed as a course of treatment. A cancer patient may receive one or more separate courses of curative and/or palliative intent radiation therapy. The dose prescribed for each course can be delivered in one or more ‘fractions’ of radiation therapy. The decision to prescribe one or more fractions of radiotherapy for each course of treatment is a clinical decision based on the indication for each course of treatment and any other relevant patient factors. A previous course of radiation therapy for the 117 palliative patients referred to may not relate to the same indication and some patients did not receive a prior course of treatment. The prescription of single fraction palliative radiation therapy is used widely and recommended with proven efficacy, particularly in the treatment of bone metastases.
(2) The decision to treat with multi or single fraction radiation therapy was made between the treating specialist and patient from the outset. The treatment prescriptions were not changed or modified. A patient may have been offered multi-fraction palliative radiation therapy when the treating specialist was of the opinion this offered greater benefit.
(3) The 117 patients have completed their course of single fraction radiation therapy. No patients have changed their dose. The use of single fraction palliative radiation therapy is still prescribed in situations where it is considered clinically appropriate to do so.
(4) The radiation dose has not been changed for any patient.
Sport—Holt District Playing Fields
(Question No 909)
Mrs Kikkert asked the Minister for Sport and Recreation, upon notice, on 23 September 2022:
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