Lovell questions health minister over unfulfilled Shepparton BreastScreen commitment

By Caleb Francis

Jun 26, 2023

Unfulfilled promise: Liberal Member for Northern Victoria Wendy Lovell recently addressed Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas during a constituency question.

State Member for Northern Victoria Wendy Lovell has called out the Andrews Government’s failure to deliver its 2021 commitment to establish a BreastScreen Victoria Reading and Assessment Service in Shepparton.

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Ms Lovell addressed Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas in parliament during a constituency question where she referred back to May 4, 2021, when former health minister Martin Foley announced that Shepparton would house Victoria’s ninth reading and assessment service, indicating in his media statement that the service would commence by the end of that year.

She said such a service would provide additional screenings and subsequent investigations for women whose initial scans suggest abnormalities.

Ms Lovell also added that it was “unacceptable” that women from the Goulburn Valley were compelled to travel to Melbourne to access a “potentially life-saving service” that should have been made available locally over two years ago.

“The Andrews Government promised that the reading and assessment service in Shepparton would be up and running by 2021,” she said.

“The reality that we are over two years in, and the service is still not operational, is wholly unacceptable.

“Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas owes it to the women of the Goulburn Valley to have this service available in Shepparton, and I call on her to make it happen immediately.”

The government said the service was delayed due to pandemic-related construction delays.

“We know women’s health has been overlooked and under-diagnosed for too long,” a Victorian government spokesperson said.

“That’s why we are investing more than $153 million to establish 20 comprehensive women’s health clinics across Victoria, including one in Shepparton, and overhauling the way women’s health issues are treated in Victoria.

“The new Shepparton BreastScreen service is set to open later this year.

“It’ll mean Victorians in the Goulburn Valley will no longer need to travel to Melbourne for further specialised tests and can instead get free and lifesaving tests closer to home.”