Urgent bowel screening has improved since 2018 with 15 per cent more patients receiving care in time. Photo / Tania Whyte
Urgent bowel screening has improved since 2018 with 15 per cent more patients receiving care in time. Photo / Tania Whyte
Northlanders have a better chance of early cancer detection as bowel screening services have been ramped up in the region.
Wait times for endoscopic procedures have been significantly reduced by the Northland District Health Board over the past three to four years. They now meet 98 to 100 per centcompliance with national health standards.
Endoscopies were nonsurgical tests to examine a person's digestive tract using an instrument called an endoscope, that was inserted into the body through natural openings such as the mouth or the anus.
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"With the construction and commissioning of a standalone endoscopy suite at Whangārei Hospital, as well as investment in staff, this has provided a level of dedicated resources to help address long-standing challenges we had with our endoscopy service," Mark McGinley, Northland DHB's general manager for surgical and support services, said.
"Endoscopy services are also delivered at Kaitaia Hospital and those facilities are in the final stages of refurbishment/upgrade.
"While there is a range of different endoscopic procedures, the most commonly reported waiting time indicator is in relation to colonoscopy," he said.
Clinical nurse Chloe Henderson in the Whangārei endoscopy suite. Photo / NDHB
Whangārei's new endoscopy suite – a repurposed and refurbished maternity unit – opened in 2020 and has since received overwhelmingly positive feedback from staff and patients.
The national bowel screening programme launched in Northland at the end of last year to save lives by finding bowel cancer early when it could often be successfully treated.
Northland was one of the last DHBs to roll out the programme which first began in 2017 but McGinley said the team were pleased with the early uptake.
He strongly encouraged everyone who qualified to take part.
"Colonoscopies are an important diagnostic procedure in assisting to diagnose lower gastrointestinal cancer.
"As is supported by the National Bowel Screening Programme, early detection is a key aspect to improved clinical outcomes for patients," he said.
The team of gastroenterological specialists had successfully identified several cases of cancer earlier than usual due to the improved service.
"This is a really positive outcome for the patients and their whānau," McGinley said.
The bowel screening programme was free for people aged 60 to 74. Eligible Northlanders would receive their first invitation in the mail within two years of the rollout.
Northland DHB estimated that in the first year of screening they would detect 41 cases of bowel cancer.
The earlier bowel cancer was diagnosed, the higher the chance of survival. People who were diagnosed with bowel cancer, and received treatment when it was at an early stage, had a 90 per cent chance of long-term survival.
