The Garvan Institute of Medical Research and St Vincent’s Hospital today welcomed the NSW Government’s approval of their development proposal for the Garvan St Vincent’s Cancer Centre lodged before the NSW Department of Planning.

“While the Cancer Centre partners submitted a revised proposal which is over eleven metres shorter than the original, we nonetheless have approval to build a cancer centre that gives us the physical scope to flourish in both our clinical and research endeavours,” said Professor John Shine Executive Director, Garvan Institute and Steven Rubic, Chief Executive Officer, St Vincents & Mater Health Sydney.

The Garvan St Vincent’s Cancer Centre will align the Garvan Institute’s internationally acclaimed cancer research with the best practice cancer services at St Vincent’s, one of Australia’s leading teaching hospitals with a long history of providing a holistic approach to cancer care.

Bringing together researchers and clinicians from across the Campus onto a single site, the Centre will allow clinical challenges to directly drive laboratory research and enable research findings to be rapidly translated into clinical application for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer patients.

One of the pioneering design features of the Cancer Centre is that it has been devised from the patient’s perspective. In addition to the major focus on sunlight and surrounding landscaping, the building is designed so the patient treatment areas on the lower floors can see the research activities on the upper levels through the central stairwell, creating a true connectivity between the clinical and research endeavours of the building.
 
The Cancer Centre will be a flagship development of the St Vincent’s Research Precinct which also comprises the St Vincent’s Centre for Applied Medical Research, the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute and the National Institute of Virology. As the largest medical research precinct in NSW, it will house over 1000 researchers.

Construction of the Cancer Centre is expected to commence in February with completion expected by mid 2012.

ABOUT GARVAN
The Garvan Institute of Medical Research was founded in 1963.  Initially a research department of St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney, it is now one of Australia's largest medical research institutions with nearly 500 scientists, students and support staff. Garvan's main research programs are: Cancer, Diabetes & Obesity, Immunology and Inflammation, Osteoporosis and Bone Biology, and Neuroscience. The Garvan's mission is to make significant contributions to medical science that will change the directions of science and medicine and have major impacts on human health. The outcome of Garvan's discoveries is the development of better methods of diagnosis, treatment, and ultimately, prevention of disease.

ABOUT ST VINCENTS & MATER HEALTH SYDNEY
St Vincents & Mater Health Sydney (SV&MHS) is the largest non-profit, non-government diversified health care provider in Australia. The group comprises St Vincent’s Hospital, St Vincent’s Private Hospital, Sacred Heart Hospice, the Mater Hospital, St Joseph’s Hospital and St Joseph’s Village. SV&MHS is the New South Wales-based arm of St Vincent’s Health Australia and collectively provides a range of acute and sub-acute services from primary prevention through to tertiary level care across community, outpatient and inpatient settings, as well as residential aged care. The six SV&MHS’ facilities are supported by a significant investment in teaching and research in partnership with universities and affiliated research institutes.

Media contacts:
David Faktor, Manager Public Affairs & Communications St Vincents & Mater Health
Sydney on 0405 497 510 or Dianne Lavender, Public Relations Manager, Garvan
Research Foundation on 0414 896 930.