Southern Cancer Care announces plans for new Sutherland Wellness Centre

Southern Cancer Care has announced plans to transform the existing Chapel at The Sutherland Hospital into a dedicated wellness centre supporting people affected by cancer across the Sutherland Shire.

The Sutherland Wellness Centre, supported by Southern Cancer Care, will provide a welcoming space for supportive care, wellness programs and community-focused services designed to complement medical cancer treatment and support patients through treatment, recovery and survivorship.

The project will see the existing Chapel on the hospital grounds renovated and repurposed, continuing the building’s long history as a place of care and support for the local community.

Built by the Rotary Clubs of the Sutherland Shire between 1976 and 1978, the Chapel has served patients, families, staff and visitors for decades. Rotary is supportive of its proposed new role as a cancer wellness centre.

Southern Cancer Care Director and Project Manager, Anthony Borgese, said the project represented an important next step in the organisation’s long history of supporting local cancer care.

“We want to create a welcoming place where people affected by cancer can access support beyond their medical treatment, close to home and within their own community. Transforming the Chapel gives us a wonderful opportunity to build on its long history as a place of care and create something that will support local people for many years to come.”

The proposed redevelopment will include structural and remedial works, accessibility upgrades, new bathroom and kitchen facilities, refreshed internal spaces and improvements to the surrounding garden.

Planning for the programs and services to be provided through the Centre is also underway.

Southern Cancer Care is establishing a Sutherland Wellness Centre Advisory Committee to help guide the development and operation of the Centre, with a focus on ensuring it responds to the needs of cancer patients, survivors, carers and families in the local community.

Potential areas being explored include physical and emotional wellbeing, survivorship support, nutrition, therapeutic programs and practical support for patients, carers and families.

The project reflects a broader shift in cancer care towards addressing the needs of the whole person alongside medical treatment. The 2022 Australian white paper Integrative Oncology and Wellness Centres in Cancer Care highlighted the role of wellness centres in supporting person-centred cancer care and helping people live better with cancer.

The Sutherland Wellness Centre will build on Southern Cancer Care’s long history of fundraising for projects that improve cancer care across the St George and Sutherland community.

Since 2002, Southern Cancer Care and its related charity, the Prostate Cancer Institute, have completed five major building projects, including the major refurbishment of the ground floor and atrium of the Cancer Care Centre at St George Hospital.

Southern Cancer Care is now calling on the community, local businesses and organisations to help bring the new Sutherland Wellness Centre to life.

“As we kick off this project in October, we’re asking our community to help us bring the Sutherland Wellness Centre to life. Your support will help us complete the final phases of work and move closer to opening the doors in 2027, creating a lasting place of support for people affected by cancer in our community.”

Learn more about the Sutherland Wellness Centre.