Cancer treatment backlog breaching patients' rights, green light for more migrants to get residency and history made at the Cabinet table in the latest New Zealand Herald headlines. Video / NZ Herald
A Dunedin woman diagnosed with a form of stomach cancer spent tens of thousands of dollars to be seen by a private hospital 360 kilometres away due to “disgusting” wait times.
This follows a damning Health and Disability Commission review revealing South Island cancer patients have faced twelve-week wait times to see specialists, despite cancer reducing their lifespan.
As a result of the review, Te Whatu Ora - Health New Zealand has apologised “unreservedly” to patients and their whānau who have experienced distress and delays in their treatment and care.
An investigation by Health and Disability Commissioner (HDC) Morag McDowell found “significant delays” for patients with suspected cancer to see a specialist in the Southern DHB area between 2016 and 2022.
One of those experiencing the delays was Gail, a 73-year-old Dunedin resident who had experienced pain in her side three years ago.
South Island cancer patients have been told to face twelve-week wait times to see specialists, despite cancer reducing their lifespan. Photo / Ross Setford
Specialists were unable to diagnose the issue until a gastroscope was completed as a last resort - revealing a form of cancer in her stomach lining which had initially gone undetected.
The news of cancer was worrying enough, but exacerbating the issue was a letter Gail received from Dunedin Hospital, telling her the next available opportunity to see a specialist was in twelve weeks.
“I was absolutely disgusted,” she told the Herald.
“It was clearly a standard letter sent out to everybody, and my husband made me worry more as he was concerned by the wait times.”
It was then Gail’s husband suggested private care in the form of St George’s Private Hospital in Christchurch, which was a five-hour drive north from where Gail lived.
She said St George’s was happy to accept her on the condition it was through a referral.
Gail’s husband suggested private care from St George’s private hospital in Christchurch, which was a five-hour drive north from where Gail lived.
Within 10 days of the diagnosis, Gail made the 360km trek north to Christchurch and was seen by the private health provider, and a week later was receiving radiation treatment for her illness.
Gail praised St George’s for their “impeccable service” and claimed that during the treatment, she received a call from Dunedin Hospital asking her to visit for scans ahead of her specialist appointment there.
“I told them the visit no longer applied to me and I’d secured my own treatment at a cost,” she said.
As news broke of the investigation’s findings revealing extraordinary wait times for cancer patients, Gail reflected on how fortunate she’d been to be able to afford alternative treatment.
“When I saw [the investigation] in the paper, I thought, ‘Well, there you go, I’m one of those statistics’,” the patient said.
“You have to be able to afford the private treatment. You’ve got to go back every year to make sure the cancer hasn’t returned. I’m incredibly lucky to be able to afford it, but so many others would never be able to.”
Gail said a couple of weeks’ wait for an appointment would be understandable, but twelve weeks was totally unrealistic.
Ten days after the diagnosis, Gail made the 360-kilometre trek north to Christchurch. Photo / Google Maps
“It rocked my socks off. I’m at the tail-end of my life, so to say, but what about people in their thirties and forties with young families? It’s really hard.”
The inquiry into the waiting times was kick-started after the issue was raised with the HDC by a patient referred to as “Ms A”.
McDowell said Ms A had been told it would take 12 weeks for her husband to be seen by an oncologist, despite the prognosis that he only had six to eight weeks to live.
“That situation had a catastrophic impact on our family,” Ms A told the inquiry.
Results from the inquiry report showed that in 2020 and 2021, between 65 and 73 per cent of patients were receiving their first treatment within 62 days of being referred to a specialist.
The Ministry of Health target is to see 90 per cent of people within 62 days.
The inquiry into the waiting times was kick-started after the issue was raised with the Health and Disability Commissioner by a patient referred to as “Ms A”. Photo / George Novak
Te Whatu Ora regional director of hospital and specialist services Dan Pallister-Coward accepted the commissioner’s findings and said the organisation apologises “unreservedly” to patients suffering stress due to their delays.
“We are fully committed to implementing the commissioner’s recommendations and have taken immediate steps to address the highlighted concerns,” he said in a statement.
“We also understand our inadequate processes for patient support during periods of increased waiting times and will address this as a matter of high priority.”
Pallister-Coward noted Te Whatu Ora has hired 24 full-time staff over the last year, but said it remains a challenge filling necessary positions for medical physicists, radiation therapists, administration staff, medical registrars and nurses.
The district health board has four radiation oncologists - they’re actively seeking to hire three more.
There is also funding for an additional five radio oncologist training positions over the course of 2023 and 2024, to “ease workforce pressures” in the long term.
Advertisement for staffing is continuing overseas, according to Pallister-Coward, and the board “has strengthened its clinical governance, performance and accountability processes”.
A national radiation oncology forum has been set up “to address the current situation” at Te Whatu Ora and will work towards a national clinical network to improve the oncology network across the country.
Pallister-Coward also said that Te Whatu Ora is outsourcing some telehealth, or online, first specialist appointments.
“This means that a patient may speak to the radiation oncologist via telehealth in a virtual meeting,” he said.
“The patient’s treatment is delivered locally at Dunedin Hospital as usual practice by our expert medical physicist, radiation therapist and nursing staff. There are always on-site registrars overseen by radiation oncologists on-site in Dunedin Hospital.”
He stated Dunedin currently holds the National Stereotactic contract in New Zealand and has continued to process referrals.
“Delivering high-quality patient care remains at the centre of everything we do,” the director said.
“We remain committed to delivering exceptional cancer services to our community. Our teams are working hard to support our patients and their whānau as we navigate through these challenges.”
