Cancer centres beating new targets

Sending cancer patients to Australia for radiation therapy now seems like a thing of the past.

New Zealand's six state-owned cancer centres at last seem to be coping with the year-on-year increases in demand for radiation therapy - with help from the private sector.

The Ministry of Health's principal adviser on cancer control, Dr John Childs, said yesterday that district health boards had not sent any cancer patients to Australia for radiation therapy for more than a year.

Shorter waits for radiation therapy was listed as one of the previous, Labour government's 10 health targets and it has been retained in National's list of six.

In the quarter from July to September, all but three of the 21 DHBs achieved the target ahead of time. Canterbury, MidCentral and Nelson Marlborough fell slightly short.

The target is that by next July all radiation therapy patients - excluding those who have scheduled delays to allow for chemotherapy - start treatment within six weeks of being referred by a specialist.

The subsequent target is that by December next year, all patients start within four weeks. Four weeks is the clinical guideline established by the ministry in 2001 after an intensive review by a specialist working party.

Dr Childs said six weeks was chosen for the target because it was "a realistic goal the treatment centres could aim for as a way to improve their capacity and service delivery".

There had been a gradual improvement to what was now an "excellent performance".

"What I'm particularly encouraged by is ... [that] the centres have reported back that 80 per cent of people are starting within four weeks."

Compliance with the four-week clinical guideline for 100 per cent of patients now looked realistic.

Dr Childs attributed the improvement to the highly visible target and the response of cancer centres. They had focused on maintaining adequate staffing, improving efficiency, and the regular replacement of the multimillion-dollar therapy machines, called linear accelerators.

"The pressure has been very much on the DHBs around trying to ensure that they are moving towards more timely replacement of older equipment and putting in plans for additional machines."

New Zealand's first private radiation therapy centre, a joint venture in Auckland between private hospital operators MercyAscot and Southern Cross Healthcare, "arguably contributes to the overall achievement of the target in Auckland". Christchurch is to get a private radiation therapy centre next year.

Dr Childs said the radiation therapy target had proved so successful a similar regime to chemotherapy and cancer surgery was being considered.