World-class Parkville comprehensive cancer centre

2 July 2010

The scope of Victoria's $1 billion world-class Parkville Comprehensive Cancer Centre project will be expanded further to include additional research space, radiation therapy bunkers and intensive care beds.

The cancer centre will be a world-leader in the field – a dedicated research, training and clinical care facility for Victorian patients. It will drive the next generation of progress in the prevention, detection and treatment of cancer.

The project brief for the centre includes 15 generic Research Lab clusters, which are each capable of accommodating 60 researchers.

The total capacity of the new Critical Care Unit (which includes the Intensive Care Unit and High Dependency Unit) will increase from 40 to 42 beds. The number of radiation therapy bunkers at the centre will increase from six to eight.

The cancer centre will also include 194 in-patient beds, 110 same-day treatment places and eight medi-hotel beds.

The Victorian and Commonwealth Governments are each contributing $426.1 million for the new Parkville Comprehensive Cancer Centre, with the remainder to be funded from the sale of surplus land, partner contributions and philanthropic donations.

The Royal Children's Hospital will join as a partner with the Parkville Comprehensive Cancer Centre.

Parkville Comprehensive Cancer Centre chair Professor Richard Larkins said he was delighted to welcome aboard the children's hospital, along with their campus partners the Murdoch Childrens' Research Institute and the Department of Paediatrics.

"The inclusion of the Royal Children’s Hospital means the cancer centre will be able to provide excellence in clinical care guided by world leading research to Victorians affected by cancer from infancy through all the stages of life," Mr Larkins said.

The new cancer centre will be used by clinical and research staff from project partners the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, the Royal Melbourne Hospital, the University of Melbourne, the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, the Royal Women’s Hospital and the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research.

Construction on the Parkville Comprehensive Cancer Centre is expected to start in 2011, with the new facilities expected to be ready in 2015.

More information

For more information please visit the Parkville Comprehensive Cancer Centre website or email parkvilleccc@health.vic.gov.au