Health Minister Tony Ryall says Bay of Plenty patients are set to benefit from a $3.5m national boost in funding for colonoscopies.
"This boost will help Bay of Plenty DHB deliver up to 370 extra colonoscopies for patients most in need," said Mr Ryall.
"A colonoscopy can identify whether a
person has cancer or pre-cancerous growths called polyps. Being diagnosed with cancer can be traumatic, but we know that bowel cancers found and treated early can often be cured.
"Some waiting times for a colonoscopy are still not ideal as DHBs have traditionally been stretched to keep up with demand from a population that is both growing and ageing.
"This is not a new challenge, but it is one that the government is making good progress on. In the 2012/13 financial year, 41,000 colonoscopies were performed by DHBs nationally - a 20 per cent increase on 2008/09. Prior to this, consistent data on colonoscopies was not recorded," he said.
