Cancer patients facing five times maximum wait

By MARTIN JOHNSTON health reporter

Patients at New Zealand's biggest cancer service are being told to expect treatment delays of up to 20 weeks - five times the recommended maximum.

Auckland Hospital yesterday confirmed a Herald report that it had stopped using one of its five radiation therapy Machines because of a staff shortage.

Three radiation therapists resigned recently, and there are now only 33 staff in a department that needs 48 to keep up with demand, let alone clear a mounting backlog.

Until this month, Auckland radiotherapy patients had to wait up to 16 weeks.

There are 187 "routine" patients on the list. At the end of February, nearly half of Auckland patients - in line with the national average - were waiting longer than the recommended maximum of four weeks.

The hospital is considering sending patients to Australia and elsewhere in New Zealand for treatment.

From April 23, it will be helped for eight weeks by two radiation therapists from Palmerston North Hospital.

Prostate cancer patients already on a 16-week waiting list yesterday told the Herald of their anxiety. "It's like having the Sword of Damocles hanging over you," said West Aucklander Cliff Robinson, aged 63.

Another prostate patient said he had been so upset by the wait that he was not sleeping well. While driving to work one day last week he briefly fell asleep and nearly crashed.

Dr John Childs, Auckland Hospital's head of radiation oncology, said delays of up to 20 weeks were "clearly unacceptable," but the hospital was doing what it could.

The delays could reduce the survival chances of some patients, but where there was evidence that might happen, "we try to prioritise them to ensure treatment is undertaken within appropriate timeframes."

He said the delays had been building for several years because of a 5.5 per cent annual growth in the number of patients, an ageing population pushing up the incidence of cancer, wider application of radiation therapy, and the staff shortage.

It would cost about $15,000 to send a patient and a support person to Australia - about double the cost of looking after them here.

Waikato Hospital has sent patients to Australia.

Health Minister Annette King said the Government had fast-tracked temporary work permits for a handful of overseas radiotherapists at the request of Auckland Hospital. More money for radiation therapy would be announced in next month's Budget.

Auckland Hospital has hired three new radiation therapists, who will start between now and next January.

Radiation therapists are in short supply around the world.

Canada is said to have solved this with a 40 per cent pay rise.

* Concerned patients can call the oncology department on 09 307-4949 extension 6486.