Hundreds of bowel cancer check-ups delayed

Saturday, 21 December 2024

Hundreds of people at risk of developing bowel cancer have had their surveillance colonoscopies at Palmerston North Regional Hospital delayed.

The 852 people on the waiting list have received letters telling them all surveillance colonoscopies have been paused, and no dates for their procedures would be booked until further notice.

Health NZ acting operations executive for planned care Chris Simpson said the pause was necessary because the endoscopy service did not have capacity to carry out all the procedures.

Priority was being given to patients who had symptoms and those who were referred through the National Bowel Screening Programme in the MidCentral region.

Cancer Society Central Districts chief executive Debra Elgar said she was “hugely disappointed” by the move which she had no knowledge of before the decision was made.

People on the surveillance list were those who were at risk of developing bowel cancer because of their previous medical history or their family history, but who did not currently have symptoms.

Elgar said the suspension of their checks would potentially result in more cancers being missed.

“These people have already been identified and are aware of their increased risk, with or without any symptoms, and we all know that not everyone will present with ‘usual’ symptoms of bowel cancer,” she said.

The physical facilities for endoscopy services were expanded and improved as part of the $33m Spire project which improved capacity on the surgical services floor at Palmerston North Hospital last year.

The problem was not having enough staff to keep up with demand.

Simpson said measures were being taken to increase the service’s capacity.

That included providing extra weekly and weekend sessions, some private outsourcing, locum gastroenterologist support, and active recruitment efforts to fill vacancies.

“However, even with this additional work, we are still needing to prioritise acute referrals.”

Simpson said surveillance patients would remain on the waiting list, and would be booked for appointments in order of priority when capacity allowed.

“We understand that this could be distressing for our patients and recognise they will have concerns about what this might mean for them in terms of early prevention.”

Patients who had any symptoms or concerns about their bowel health should see their GP.

“We are committed to working towards a solution for the management of the increased demand for the service.” Simpson said.

“We will be reviewing the waitlist monthly to manage how long patients have been waiting for their colonoscopies.”

An update would be provided in May.

Health NZ was unable to confirm how many surveillance colonoscopies were normally carried out in Palmerston North each week, and how many patients were directly affected by the pause.

Meantime, patients referred through the National Bowel Cancer Screening Programme would continue to have their procedures.

Elgar said the Cancer Society actively campaigned for screening programmes, but it was disappointing that supporting patients from the bowel screening programme was at the expense of surveillance screening for at-risk communities who should also be a high priority.

“It is seriously disappointing to see an erosion of those services for a lack of capacity, and we support improved workforce planning and support for regional service delivery.”