People suspected of having cancer are facing delays in getting treatment in Counties Manukau, with the area’s biggest health provider failing to meet its own targets.
But Cancer Society of New Zealand chief executive Lucy Elwood says meeting such benchmarks is vital and can potentially save lives.
The latest figures were included in a report to Parliament’s health select committee, as part of an annual review into the defunct Counties Manukau District Health Board.
Under the target system 90% of patients who doctors suspect have a high probability of having cancer should receive their first treatment or assessment within 62 days of being referred.
But in Counties Manukau only 80% of patients in 2021/2022 were seen within that time frame. That’s down from 87% in 2020/2021.
Te Whatu Ora (Counties Manukau) chief medical officer Dr Andrew Connolly said the fact the DHB failed to meet the faster cancer treatment target was cause for concern.
While not all patients referred would actually have cancer, it remained an important part of the diagnosis process.
Speaking to the select committee on Friday he said it represented around 15% of the work it does in relation to cancer in Counties Manukau.
Connolly said there was “continuous room for improvement” in such areas.
But Elwood said the fact hospitals around the country were failing to meet the so-called faster cancer treatment target was a worrying sign.
“Obviously we’re concerned about the situation in Counties Manukau, but it’s part of a much wider national problem,” she said.
“These are the patients we want to get seen really quickly, but it’s just taking too long,” Elwood said. “And in terms of cancer patients it can really affect their outcomes and that’s why these targets exist.”
She said for affected patients getting seen quicker can be potentially life-saving.
Elwood said the national figure for 2021/2022 for patients suspected of having cancer that were seen within the target was 84.2 %.
She said the society would prefer to see such patients make it to their first treatment within two weeks.
But Elwood said some cases were more complex and patients might have to book in for procedures like MRI scans before they could undergo surgery, which added to their wait times.
According to the Ministry of Health, cancer is the country’s single biggest cause of death and more people are developing it.
But many cancers can be cured if they are found and treated in time. According to the Ministry of Health one in every three people who get it are cured.
Te Whatu Ora was approached for comment for this article.
