Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/553115
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 9 AUGUST 2015 11 News MIRIAM DALLI THE Sir Anthony Mamo Oncol- ogy Centre will tomorrow receive its first cancer patients for radio- therapy, who will make use of two state-of-the-art linear accelera- tors. The machines, costing some €20 million, allow for quicker and more precise radiotherapy. Sina Bugeja, Special Projects CEO in charge of patient migra- tion, explained that patients cur- rently undergoing radiotherapy treatment at the Sir Paul Boffa Hospital will continue their treat- ment there. "It is a clinical decision based on the fact that patients can't have their treatment machines changed. So patients currently at the Boffa Hospital will continue to receive their radiotherapy treat- ment there; patients who are yet to start their treatment will have theirs at the new centre," Bugeja told MaltaToday. It is planned that the full migra- tion of patients will be completed by end September. The detailed plan outlining the move also in- cludes the transfer of young cancer sufferers from Mater Dei Hospital, the haematology department and pharmacy services. "Bringing every- thing under one roof, especially with specialisation in the sector advanc- ing, means that all experts will be at hand," Bugeja add- ed. The €52 million oncology centre caters for 113 beds, up from 78 beds at Boffa Hospital. On the other hand, the outpatients depart- ment can see up to 400 patients in a week. Health Parlia- mentary secretary Chris Fearne said the state-of-the-art equipment not only provides pre- cise radiotherapy but also mini- mises side effects. "We are cur- rently in the process of training nurses and healthcare specialists so as to have more human re- sources," he said. It will also be possible for pa- tients and visitors to make use of wifi at the oncology hospital. The linear accelerators consist of high-tech radiotherapy equipment used to target tumours through the use of external beam radiation treatments. The machines make use of kV and 3D imaging, which allows frequent two- and three- dimensional imaging during the course of radiation treatment. "The technology makes it easier to point the rays to the tumour," medical physicist Dorothy Aqui- lina said. Medical physicist expert Martin Pirotta explained how a patient to undergo radiotherapy would first require a CT scan to locate the tumour. "The consultants would then outline the treatment plan, which includes the inputting of data in a computerised system. The computer contains informa- tion on what the machine should do when the rays hit the patient," Pirotta said, explaining that it was essentially a mathematical model of how the machine interacts with the patient. HE has electrified a political de- bate about the future of the United Kingdom with his straightforward, unspun and honest brand of so- cialist policies. At 66, backbencher Jeremy Cor- byn, who was first elected to parlia- ment in 1983, became the unlikely and unexpected frontrunner in the Labour leadership campaign, up- setting the Labour establishment (Tony Blair derided supporters of Corbyn's bid as 'needing a heart transplant'), and promising na- tionalisation of essential services like the railways. His supporters are mostly young but he has the strong backing of the unions. His critics however fear that Corbyn, who follows in a tradition of anti-austerity movements like Syriza in Greece and Podemos in Spain, will keep David Cameron's Tories in power because he can- not bridge with the aspirations of 'middle England'. Even here in Malta, those who worked inside 'new Labour' to get Joseph Muscat elected say that Corbyn's seis- mic shift to the left will be disastrous for British Labour. "Authentic and genuine, not your typical Westmin- ster politician, his core beliefs are music to social- ists like me: tackling poverty, social justice and anti-austerity," says Kurt Farrugia, head of com- munications for the Labour gov- ernment. "[But] in terms of electability, Corbyn would send the party into a downward spiral, if not absolute annihilation," he says. Farrugia has worked alongside Prime Minister Joseph Muscat since his election as leader in 2008, forming part of Labour's rebrand- ing into a party of catch-all aspira- tions, a strategy party lifted straight out of the Blairist playbook. He thinks a radical shift to the left will doom British Labour to more years in opposition. "Paradoxically, his leftist ideology makes him the only candi- date presenting a 'new' way of doing poli- tics, a real contrast to conservative politics. Is it the change Labour and Britain need? Certainly not." Farrugia says the centre-left can only achieve consensus and power with a pro-business but socially conscientious agenda, and a sen- sible reform agenda. "A moderate voice, clearly to the left but with a credible change programme… a reformist who can read the sign of the times without shocking the system." Labour candidate and declared 'moderate' Aaron Farrugia says Corbynism is a risky gamble for Labour to win back Conservative- held constituencies, and says his supporters are hijacking the party to step away from Tony Blair's modernising platforms – "the hard, loony left... Tony Benn sup- porters and Michael Foot aficiona- dos, unions like Unite, Unison and the CWU, and the new registered members buying into Corbyn's easy, uncompromising and sellable solutions." Unsurprisingly, he backs Blairist candidate Liz Kendall for leader. But Farrugia agrees that so- cial democrats must craft a new narra- tive based on equality and freedom, say- ing that social democrat parties were wiped out when they became indistinguish- able from the right at a time when recession and the financial crisis raised people's dependence on welfare support. But he says a Corbyn leadership will not prevail over the Tories. He draws parallels with former Lon- don mayor Ken Livingstone, both anti-austerity, supported by unions and greens and those disenchanted by the Blair-Brown years. "[But] with all the advantages Livingstone has over Corbyn – a track record to start with – Livingstone lost out to Boris Johnson in 2012. If the former didn't win in London, it is highly un- likely that Cor- byn can win a general election. He will alienate the moderates – the people that decide elections. A Corbyn win means it's Christmas in July for the Tories. And they know it." It is clear in the way that the two Farrugias speak, that Labour's left- wing tradition is out of favour with its moderate, pro-business, cen- trist compromise. But as Dundee resident and aca- demic Prof. John Baldacchino points out, this may well be where Blairism has taken Labour today… "where real issues of democracy, so- cial justice and other strong principles that d i s t i n g u i s h e d Labour's political programmes from others, are now hard to come by." And he echoes gripes that are also found in Malta's vanilla poli- tics, where what often matters for parties and their leaders is how the economy fares and little else. "British Labour has become too close to a centre-ground that makes it indistinguishable from the Tories, making it difficult for voters to understand why they should vote Labour… what mat- ters is 'how to handle the economy' without questioning its postulates and what kind of economy it represents. This creates a mana- gerial context where certain economic val- ues are taken as absolutes," B a l d a c c h i n o says. His analysis is that Labour is grap- pling with two prob- lems, the first a generational one with young Corbyn-ists who "do not really appreciate or under- stand the troubling past through which Labour, in the days before and after Michael Foot, became unelectable"; and the "crucial" Scottish issue, where Labour lost dismally. "Whoever is leader must face the fact that Labour cannot afford to remain fractured in Scotland and under constant siege in England… the irony is that while some argue that Labour lost in England be- cause it appeared to move to the left under Miliband's direction, in Scotland it has been suffering from a steady haemorrhage of votes be- cause it was and is regarded as be- ing on the right and no different from the Tories." Oncology hospital receives first patients tomorrow The man who will make British Labour unelectable? Why is the popularity of Jeremy Corbyn's leadership bid being rued as a disaster for British Labour? MATTHEW VELLA spoke to those who worked to make Labour electable in Malta about the new, old spectre that haunts the UK Jeremy Corbyn Liz Kendall Yvette Cooper Andy Burnham In figures 2,000 persons • diagnosed with cancer every year On average, a total of • 700 people lose their battle, with 25% of deaths in Malta related to cancer Cancer is the second • most common cause of death in Malta Most common cancers in women Breast: 34% Colorectal: 10.6% Uterus: 7.3% Most common cancers in men Prostate – 21% Lung – 15.5% Colorectum – 12.2%