Nowra Private Hospital is closing its day oncology service less than three years after it opened - leaving private patients with the prospect of having to travel to Wollongong for treatment.
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Ramsay Health Care confirmed the oncology unit would close on Wednesday, August 2.
A spokesperson for the hospital said the two-chair oncology unit "has seen low patient volumes since it opened at the end of 2020".
"We currently have three patients completing their chemotherapy treatment in our oncology unit - two of these patients will be finished their courses by the time we close this service on August 2, and arrangements have been made for the third person's ongoing treatment," the spokesperson said.
"We also have a very small number of patients who receive maintenance chemotherapy treatments once every three months and we will also work with them and their treating doctors to instead enable them to undergo their sessions at another site such as Wollongong Private Hospital."
The spokesperson said there was a chance patients requiring infusions of blood products and immunotherapy could continue to be treated on a case-by-case basis on a ward at Nowra Private Hospital.
Two staff members working in the oncology unit were being offered the opportunity to work in another area of the hospital, the spokesperson said.
The unit opened with plenty of fanfare in December 2020.
At the time the hospital said it was opening "a comprehensive oncology centre" that would be "staffed by specialist nurses, allied health employees and doctors who will support patients through their cancer treatment journey".
The hospital's CEO at the time, Prue Buist, said the unit would save private patients the inconvenience of travelling to Wollongong for treatment.
"Going through cancer treatment is hard enough without the additional stress and inconvenience of needing to travel to access this service," she said.
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"We are looking forward to being able to treat patients close to their homes and it also makes sense that patients can see their specialist and then receive treatment at the same location."
Despite the unit's impending closure, Ramsay Health Care said it was "more committed than ever to the Shoalhaven community".
"We have plans to invest further in Nowra Private Hospital with two new operating theatres, a new day surgery area, onsite radiology and imaging, more car parking and an onsite pharmacy," the spokesperson said,
"We are about to install a new Mako robotic surgical system next month, which comes just a few months after we unveiled the region's first VELYS robotic surgical system which allows patients to access robotic knee replacement surgery close to home."
The spokesperson said the Nowra Private Hospital contributed almost $17 million to the local economy each year, "and we are proud to continue to give back in this way".
