Patient advocate Melissa Vining overwhelmed by scathing report on southern cancer treatment services

Patient advocate Melissa Vining was utterly overwhelmed when she read the Health and Disability Commissioner’s scathing report on southern cancer treatment services.

“I cried and cried and cried,’’ she said.

‘‘It was a mixture of frustration and anger and despair and thinking of all the people who have lost their lives due to inadequate cancer services . . . I thought of all the patients who have bravely spoken out over the years about this problem, and no-one with the power to change it has taken any meaningful action.’’

Vining’s initial complaint about steepling southern cancer treatment waiting lists and the harm caused by ever-lengthening delays to life-saving assessment and treatment sparked Commissioner Morag McDowell’s own initiative investigation into the wider service over the past six years.

’’I am so grateful that the commissioner let me make a complaint on behalf of our region because the report is a pretty horrendous read,’’ Ms Vining said.

’’The report feels like validation. It is the truth, and it’s nice that the HDC is independent and watching over the system . . . I’m glad the report has so many recommendations and I just hope that it is not just another report that has no action following on from it.’’

Vining and her late husband Blair campaigned during the final months of his life to improve cancer treatment in New Zealand, and their efforts in no small part convinced the government to establish Te Aho o Te Kahu, the Cancer Control Agency.

Melissa Vining and her late husband Blair. Photo / Supplied

Since Mr Vining’s death in 2019, Ms Vining has continued the couple’s work, regularly commenting on southern health services and is also a leading figure in the building of the Southland Charity Hospital.

’’I promised to try and create better cancer care for all New Zealanders, as crazy as that sounds, and reading it all in that report it was incredibly sad to know that people in power, who had all that information, were well aware of what was occurring and no-one has done anything, and now it is in a worse state.’’

In 2018 an SDHB letter told Mr Vining that he had an expected 12-week wait time to see an oncologist regarding his bowel cancer diagnosis after he had already been informed that he had approximately six to eight weeks to live.

The letter formed part of Ms Vining’s complaint to the HDC, specifically the lack of any contact number or person to ring for further information.

The report suggested that matters had only improved marginally since.

’’Te Whatu Ora Southern provided HDC with 10 letters sent to cancer patients in 2021 following triage, where actual wait times were estimated to be between six to 12 weeks.

‘‘Nine of these letters were for radiation oncology patients, where the guidelines recommend being seen within four weeks.

‘‘The letters do not provide a contact number or name.’’

Ms Vining said that every single patient that she had advocated for in recent years had similar complaints to hers about poor communication.

’’That was what started all this . . . and the situation has not improved.’’