Shortage of cancer staff worldwide say officials

By REBECCA WALSH health reporter

Health officials blame an international shortage of specialist cancer staff for chemotherapy waiting lists at Auckland Hospital.

Yesterday the Herald reported that for the first time cancer patients in Auckland and Northland were having to wait weeks for chemotherapy treatment because of staff shortages and an increasing number of people diagnosed with cancer.

Dr Colin Feek, the Health Ministry's deputy director-general of clinical services, said staff were doing the best they could given the international situation but added, "We would like to do better".

New Zealand was not the only country where patients had to wait for treatment, he said. Australia, Canada and Britain also had difficulties with waiting times.

Research to be published at the end of the year showed five-year cancer survival outcomes in New Zealand were on a par with those countries.

Dr Feek said the wider availability of some cancer drugs and an average 7 per cent a year increase in the number of people diagnosed with cancer had contributed to the "heavy load" Auckland Hospital now faced.

Oncologist John Childs, clinical leader of medical services at the hospital, said patients had to wait two to three weeks for a specialist assessment and in some cases waited as long again before receiving the treatment.

That timeframe was within the ministry's guidelines, which required patients to be assessed within four weeks and he was confident no patients needing urgent treatment would face a delay that would put their lives at greater risk.

But Cancer Society chief executive Michael Dudman said some people were waiting longer than six weeks for chemotherapy, putting them under extra stress.

Dr Feek said the hospital was trying to work out better ways of meeting the demand. The ministry expected a second report in the next two weeks. It was also investigating whether it should introduce guidelines for treatment times for chemotherapy.

Dr Childs said more nurses and possibly more oncologists would help. The department had eight oncologists (some worked part-time) and 11 medical oncology nurses.

A decision about staffing levels was expected in the next couple of months.

Dr Feek said cancer patients needing radiation treatment in Auckland had once waited 22 weeks for treatment but were now being seen within 12 weeks. The ministry continued to pay for some patients to be flown to Australia for private treatment.

The number of radiation therapists being trained in New Zealand had been boosted from 16 to 26 this year and was expected to reach 38 next year. Salaries had also been increased by 25 per cent to try to ensure graduates stayed in New Zealand.

* Next week the ministry will release its Cancer Control Strategy, looking at cancer treatment, from prevention to palliative care.