About Us

Purposes and Aims of the Institute

To provide Financial Assistance to foundations, hospitals, research facilities and qualified persons engaged in:

• Scientific and medical research into the causes, cure or prevention of the gathering of information that provides assistance to the scientific cancer, and medical profession engaged in research and clinical practice of cancer
• The attendance at educational, personal development and study coursesand conferences for those involved in research into and management of cancer and related medical conditions, including travel, accommodation and food expenses.

To provide Financial Assistance for the establishment, development and operation of the St George’s Cancer Care - The Glasson Centre.

To provide Financial Assistance as the Trustee thinks fit to those patients and their primary support persons attending the St George’s Cancer Care for cancer treatment whom the Trustee appoints.

To do such other things as in the opinion of the Trustee may be incidental or conducive to the attainment or the purposes and activities of the Trust.

To provide Financial Assistance to such charitable organisations involved in the treatment of cancer patients or cancer research and that have approved donee status under sections CW34 and CW35 of the Income Tax Act 2004 (or any substitute or additional Act) and whose charitable purposes are exclusively in New Zealand. Provided that the foregoing purposes are to be conducted only in furtherance of charitable purposes as defined by law and are not to be so construed as to authorise the pursuit of any non charitable purpose.

The funds held by the Institute can only be used for the purposes outlined above. Financial assistance includes the provision of funds, purchasing and leasing equipment, loans and donations however with respect to financial assistance to the St George’s Cancer Care this must not create a financial benefit for St George’s Cancer Care.

Charitable Purposes

The funds held by the Institute can only be used for a charitable purpose, as defined by law, which provides a public benefit and does not create a private financial profit. Within the context of the trust deed, the relevant charitable purposes referred to in the Charities Act are likely to be “the advancement of education” and a “matter beneficial to the community”. With regard to the latter, the relief of impotent (sick) people is a purpose which benefits the community in a way that the law regards as charitable. The provision of financial assistance to St George’s Cancer Care and its patients will generally come within this qualifying purpose. The provision of financial assistance for research will generally come within the advancement of education qualifying purpose, subject to it passing the public benefit test.

To provide a public benefit, which can be direct or indirect, the benefit must be available to the general public or to a reasonably defined section of the public. Financial assistance to St George’s Cancer Care clearly qualifies as being available to the general public. Financial assistance to patients is likely to be regarded as available to the general public or a reasonably defined section of the public but this will need to be considered in the specific circumstances of the assistance being provided. For financial assistance for research to qualify as a charitable purpose, the research results will need to be available to the general public or a reasonably defined section of the public.

Financial assistance must not create a private financial profit. Consequently, as St George’s Cancer Care is partially privately owned, financial assistance provided to St George’s Cancer Care must be provided at no less than open market rates or be structured in such a way, such as the provision of financial services for which St George’s Cancer Care makes no charge to its patients, so that no financial benefit is conferred on the owners of St George’s Cancer Care. As St George’s Hospital is itself a charity, financial assistance which is beneficial to St George’s Hospital does not create a private financial profit and is not therefore precluded on these grounds.

Activities Supported by the Institute

Any financial assistance provided by the Institute will need to be both permitted by the Trust Deed and a charitable activity. The following is intended to provide direction and guidelines for the type of assistance that may be considered by the Institute:

• Treatment support: Financial assistance for families and patients who might not otherwise be in a position to access timely and appropriate treatments from the St George’s Cancer Care.
• Assistance with the funding of non Pharmac chemotherapy drugs: Contributions to the cost of drugs which are not fully funded by Pharmac where those drugs are considered materially beneficial in the treatment of specific cancers.
• Psychosocial: “Support services” funding that contributes to a patients’ care and/or their families understanding of their condition and mental and emotional needs.
• Accommodation support: To alleviate stresses arising from the need for patients and their support persons having to travel to St George’s Cancer Care, travel and accommodation grants may be provided where patients may not otherwise be able to access the treatment due to the additional cost of that travel and accommodation.
• Equipment: The accumulation of capital to enable St George’s Cancer Care to upgrade its equipment and to acquire new equipment when technologies and proposed services require it.
• Research: Research that may be considered by the Institute will generally fall into the following three categories: clinical treatment protocols and systems, research into patients and family responses to treatments, and support services and treatment regimens.
• Education: Education funded by the Institute may include education for patients and their families, continuing medical education for clinicians, radiation technologists and allied staff involved with patient treatments to ensure practice and knowledge of treatments is current and the education of the general public in cancer prevention and care.

Advanced Technologies

The St George’s Cancer Institute is committed to providing the most up to date equipment and technologies for the St George’s Cancer Care . A Stereotactic programme will ensure the Centre remains at the cutting edge in radiation treatment technology. The introduction of a stereotactic treatment programme will further enhance our radiation treatment options to provide an even more comprehensive service for patients.

There are essentially 2 forms of stereotactic treatments those within the head region Cranial (SRT or SRS) and those outside of that known as Extra cranial or Body (SBRT or SBRS). For very small lesions and those within the brain, or adjacent to critical structures greater accuracy is required, and this does mean new equipment and technology.