The case for an extra floor devoted to private patients at Victoria's new $1 billion cancer centre will be assessed to ensure public facilities are protected, the government says.
The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre is proposing a private floor in the new Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre (VCCC) being built at the Melbourne suburb of Parkville.
Health Minister David Davis says the proposal will go before his department shortly and be carefully considered.
He says there would need to be protections and guarantees in place if the plans eventuate to ensure Victorian patients are not pushed out in favour of private and overseas patients.
"That business case will be assessed in a careful way to ensure that there's protection of public facilities and that any private facility is an addition to the comprehensive cancer centre," Mr Davis told reporters on Wednesday.
"It may well be that it's in the interests of Victorians to see the comprehensive cancer centre have an additional private component."
Mr Davis said he supports a balanced approach that allows clinicians to have significant involvement in both public and private sectors.
He said if the business case shows it can generate revenue that can be ploughed back into services for Victorians or into further research, it would be considered favourably.
However, Opposition Leader Daniel Andrews said any extra space inside the new centre should be made available to Victorian public patients battling cancer so they can get the life-saving care they need.
"At a time when more Victorians are waiting for the care they need for longer than we've seen perhaps ever, it's no time for the Liberal state government to be running the Harvey World Travel of health," he said.
The VCCC will provide a new home for the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, and include new cancer research and clinical services for Melbourne Health and new cancer research facilities for The University of Melbourne.
It's expected to open in 2016.
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