“I am aware the ongoing difficulties to deliver timely radiation treatment services in Southern have been stressful and disruptive for many cancer patients and their whānau,” chief executive, Rami Rahal, said.
Rahal added that “Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora have taken meaningful steps to support Southern cancer services”.
While the current waiting list for first specialist appointments with a radiation oncologist has reportedly nearly halved, from 113 people a year ago to 56 people currently waiting in the Southland and Otago region, more needs to be done, particularly as specialist shortages continued to plague health services in New Zealand.
As Rahal also pointed out, it is vital that more is done to ensure we retain existing health staff across the country, while also intensifying the efforts to recruit skilled clinicians from overseas, offering them the best conditions to draw them here and boost our strained health workers who, in many cases, are on the verge of burnout.
The same needs are highlighted in a follow-up report from the Health and Disability Commission, released last week, 10 months after a highly critical report by the Health and Disability Commissioner.
An investigation last April found that waiting times at Southern District Health Board (Te Whatu Ora Southern) were so bad that some cancer patients were likely to die before even seeing a specialist. The follow-up report states that, in some departments, things have got worse since then - and the situation is not restricted to that region.
Commissioner Morag McDowell said Te Whatu Ora Southern, Health New Zealand, and Te Aho o Te Kahu had done “considerable work” to improve services following her recommendations last year.
However, she added: “it is evident that progress is greatly hindered by the difficulties in recruitment of the workforce, and the service has faced significant challenges since the publication of my report”.
It is urgent that the Ministry of Health addresses the skill shortages in radiation oncology in New Zealand. And radiotherapy is just one area of general cancer treatment which can include surgery, consultations, scans, tests, chemotherapy and ongoing follow-up care.
We need to attract top overseas talent while simultaneously address burnout and the working conditions of existing healthcare workers in the country, before they decide moving to Australia would be a good idea.
A government’s job is to look after its people, particularly its most vulnerable people. People with cancer in New Zealand risk dying before they can see a doctor. If this is not an emergency, what is?
