$4m radiotherapy machine puts end to Aussie trips

By KEVIN TAYLOR

A $4.2 million state-of-the-art cancer treatment machine will put an end to costly trips to Australia for many North Island patients.

Since late October, 17 cancer patients from Health Waikato's catchment area have flown to Australia for six to seven weeks of treatment.

A further two leave this week, but oncology and haematology manager Wayne Little said the commissioning of the new radiotherapy machine would mean trips would stop from next month.

Health Waikato hopes the American-built machine will cut cancer treatment waiting lists.

The machine, installed behind 2m-thick concrete walls to protect staff from radiation, is the regional cancer centre's third radiotherapy machine. Staff will start using it in the first week of February.

Mr Little said it would double the hospital's radiotherapy capacity - allowing an additional 30 courses of treatment to be started each month. However, a shortage of radiation therapists meant the machine would not initially run to capacity.

The shortage is a worldwide problem. In New Zealand, about 150 radiation therapist positions are funded, but there are 26 vacancies.

Mr Little said five of those were at Waikato Hospital. The hospital was also looking for a physicist and a radiation oncologist.

Health Waikato was recruiting around the world.

The nationally recommended maximum radiotherapy waiting time is four weeks, but in November 141 patients had waited longer for treatment at Waikato Hospital.

Mr Little said Health Waikato aimed to bring all patients back within that four-week guideline.

The hospital's cancer treatment centre takes patients mainly from the Waikato, King Country, Coromandel, Bay of Plenty and Rotorua.

Under pressure from a lack of staff and the knowledge that the new machine would not be ready until this year, Health Waikato and the Health Funding Authority in October started paying for patients to go to Australia.

The cost was about $10,000 a patient, but health authorities argued it was little more than the cost of treatment at Waikato Hospital if patients had come from outside Hamilton.

The patients had the option of taking a support person, also paid for by the HFA, for radiotherapy treatment lasting six to seven weeks. Patients went to Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.