Bowel cancer: High-risk patients in Manawatū affected by halt on colonoscopies, minister told

The gastroenterology department had attempted to relieve pressure by recruiting more staff, referring patients to other regions, outsourcing and holding extra sessions on weekends.
Despite these measures, wait lists had continued to grow, leading to the 'difficult' decision to pause surveillance colonoscopies in November. Symptomatic colonoscopies and bowel screening colonoscopies, in which disease was more likely to be detected, continued.
The briefing showed that the pause affected a group of people who had been identified through the National Bowel Screening Programme as needing a surveillance colonoscopy once a year. This group of about 60 patients was deemed high-risk for developing colorectal cancer.
'Consequently, these high-risk [bowel screening] participants are among those patients awaiting a colonoscopy and are adversely impacted by the decision to pause surveillance in MidCentral,' the briefing to the minister said.
Officials said there was a 'clinical risk' in not offering a surveillance colonoscopy for people with a history of polyps or a family history of bowel cancer.
Patient Voice Aotearoa chairman Malcolm Mulholland was one of about 850 patients who received a letter in December to say their colonoscopy was on hold.
He said he was particularly concerned about the 60 patients identified as high-risk of developing colorectal cancer.
'I sincerely hope that no patient awaiting a surveillance colonoscopy has subsequently been diagnosed with colorectal cancer, or worse, died,' he said.
The Herald asked Health NZ whether the high-risk group had since received colonoscopies.
In a statement, MidCentral group director operations Sarah Fenwick did not directly answer questions about this group. She said surveillance colonoscopies resumed in February, including additional lists on Saturdays at least twice a month.
The gastroenterology department had also outsourced 187 colonoscopies to the private sector, with 80 getting their operation so far.
In February, Health NZ said there were two specialist vacancies at the service. These roles were still being filled.
'Priority has been given to locum gastroenterologist support, and we are actively recruiting to fill our workforce vacancies,' Fenwick said.
The briefing to the minister said other regions were also under pressure to stop surveillance colonoscopies, but MidCentral was the only region to go ahead with a pause.
Health NZ data showed that about 66% of patients in the region were waiting more than the maximum recommended time for a colonoscopy (120 days for a surveillance colonoscopy) – the highest rate in the country.
It comes as the Government plans to extend the age range for bowel cancer screening nationwide.
The screening age will be lowered from 60 years old to 58, beginning with two regions in October.

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NZ Herald

2 hours ago

• NZ Herald

'The Best Birthday Present I Ever Got'

Northlander George Dods shares how a free bowel screening kit led to early cancer detection — and a second chance. When a green envelope arrived in the post not long after his 60th birthday, Mr Dods didn't think much of it. Like many, he'd seen the bowel screening ads on TV, but the idea of actually doing the test? That was a different story. 'I put it on my desk, then it got buried under paper… found it, buried it again — that happened a few times,' he laughs. 'I didn't avoid it on purpose, but life gets busy. It took a few months before I actually sat down and did it.' What changed? 'Honestly,' he says, 'I realised how easy it was. You do it at home, in private. No one needs to know. The most public part is posting it back.' Mr Dods didn't have any symptoms. No family history. No pressing reason to act. But the kit showed up, and thankfully, he followed through. The result: a positive test and a quick call from the medical team. 'That moment triggered everything,' he says. 'Suddenly I was booked for a colonoscopy. I remember thinking, 'What even is a colonoscopy?' I had no idea what I was in for — but it turned out to be a lot less scary than I imagined.' During the procedure, Mr Dods found himself watching the screen alongside the doctor. 'I laughed out loud. The doctor asked what was funny, and I told him, 'Doc, that's a part of me I never thought I'd see!'' The colonoscopy confirmed that there was something suspicious in his colon – and that it needed to be removed. For Mr Dods, the choice was clear. 'I said, 'I'm only 60. There's more I want to do.' So I committed fully. Changed my diet, did all the prep, and showed up for surgery on the 27th of March — ready to go.' Fortunately, the surgery went smoothly. The cancer hadn't spread. Radiation wasn't needed. And his care team made sure he was supported every step of the way. 'There was always a plan. That made a huge difference,' he says. 'I never felt left hanging.' Ten days later, he got the news: the operation was a complete success. 'They got it all. I was over the moon. I told the doctor to thank the whole team — everyone I dealt with was outstanding.' Now, he's sharing his story to encourage others to do the test — especially those who've put the envelope to one side. 'I'm not shy about it. It's part of life. We need to talk about it more. If it wasn't for that screening test arriving in the mail, I wouldn't have known anything was wrong. I had no symptoms. I'd never have gone to the doctor.' He pauses, then smiles. 'It really was the best birthday present I've had in a long time. Yeah, I had to do a bit of work to get the benefit — but it was worth it.' For Mr Dods, the message is simple: 'None of us need to die of bowel cancer. Caught early, it's treatable. And this programme gives us that chance. So do the test. Don't put it off.' A Personal Mission: Kylah's Mahi to Protect Whānau For Northland health promoter Kylah Pere, the National Bowel Screening Programme is more than just a job — it's deeply personal. 'I lost my aunty to bowel cancer at a young age. She had no symptoms, no warning. That's why I do this mahi — to help make sure others don't miss the chance she never had.' Kylah works at the heart of the programme in Te Tai Tokerau, encouraging people to take the free test that could save their life. She sees firsthand how early detection through screening gives whānau more time — and more options. 'It's a simple test you do at home, in private. It doesn't cost anything, but the value it brings is immeasurable.' Her message is especially important for Māori, who are more likely to be diagnosed later and face worse outcomes. 'This programme is a taonga for our people,' she says. 'Bowel cancer can hide without symptoms. Screening helps us catch it early.' Kylah hopes her work inspires others to look after themselves — and each other. 'When you do the test, you're not just protecting yourself. You're protecting your whakapapa. Your tamariki, your mokopuna, your whānau.' You'll be sent a free bowel screening kit every two years if you're aged 60 to 74. If you've got a kit at home, do the test – what are you waiting for! It's quick, easy, and could save your life.

RNZ News

15 hours ago

• RNZ News

Media in the middle of political skirmishes over sickness and health

Last weekend's Sunday Star Times digs into the political battleground of healthcare. Photo: Sunday Star Times Mediawatch : This week the latest Ipsos Issues Monitor survey showed 'inflation/cost of living' was - again - the top concern of Kiwis. No surprise there - or that 'healthcare/hospitals' was in second place. "It continues on its upward trend, reaching its highest level of concern (43 percent) since tracking began," Ipsos said. That - and the fact that more of those surveyed chose Labour as the party most capable of managing health - would have stood out for the government. The same is true of how the issue plays out in the media. Under the headline The political problem of health Health Minister Simeon Brown told the Sunday Star-Times last weekend the job "matters to every New Zealander from the moment they're born to the moment they die. It's a huge responsibility, but there's also significant opportunity." He'd just announced an opportunity for private hospitals - instructing Health NZ to make long-term deals with them for elective surgeries. "We haven't been ideological about it, we've been focusing on pragmatic solutions to ... maximise what's delivered both in the public and private system," Brown told Newstalk ZB the same day. The next day, New Zealand Herald political editor Thomas Coughlan reported official papers showed Treasury reckoned further cuts to health would be needed to meet the demands of the government's health delivery plan. But that didn't come up when the prime minister appeared that day on Newstalk ZB for his regular Monday morning chat. The host Mike Hosking said he couldn't agree more when the PM said people don't care who's doing their long awaited op when they are staring at the hospital ceiling. But then Hosking told the prime minister about an interview last week with a Christchurch surgeon who works in both the public and the private systems. "We need to be more flexible in public (hospitals). They even come round at one o'clock and say it looks like you'll finish after 4 or 4.30, so we won't let you do your second case," Chris Wakeman told Hosking last week. "You wouldn't close your factory at 4 o'clock if you still had work to do," he added. Later, Mike Hosking read out a text from an unnamed listener who claimed nurses and anaesthetic technicians insist operating stops early if it looks like it's going to go past 4pm. The following day Mike Hosking asked Brown if surgeries that might overrun 4pm were routinely postponed. "Look, there are heavily unionised contractual arrangements in the public system and so you do end up with inefficiencies throughout the system. Those issues need to be dealt with by Health New Zealand to make sure that it is more efficient," Brown replied. "These union agreements ... drive inefficiency and a lack of productivity. These are issues that do need to be resolved as part of (Health New Zealand) negotiations with the unions." Health Minister Simeon Brown Photo: RNZ / REECE BAKER "Absolutely not. The limits are more about management decisions on staffing costs, availability of recovery beds and how to distribute operating theatres between acute and elective work," Sarah Dalton, executive director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists told Mediawatch . "The barrier to providing more elective surgeries is a refusal to pay staff required to work longer hours ... and inability to provide sufficient staff to run our operating theatres to their maximum capacity." "We don't have anything in place that would stand in the way of doctors opting to work in a different work pattern or longer hours. And in fact, many of them frequently do. "Typically surgeons and anaesthetists work 10 hour days. A number of hospitals sometimes run what are sometimes called twilight theatres in the early evening or on weekends. "I don't think the way that the discussion has been presented is entirely fair - and it is somewhat misleading. "It is concerning to us that 'private' is seen as the answer when in fact they are already near capacity for what they can do. And we also have significant doctor shortages." Sarah Dalton Photo: LDR / Stuff / Kevin Stent Hosking [ returned to the issue] with Health NZ's Chief Clinical Officer Dr Richard Sullivan on Thursday. He said the proportion of "early finishes" in theatres doing elective surgery is declining - and under the government's 'elective boost' programme they had been doing some surgeries on Saturdays and Sundays too. "It's more than just the unions. You'd need a quite a big workforce to run full Saturday lists all the time. That's not to say we shouldn't look at that, but we need the most efficient way of getting people through our theatres," Dr Sullivan said. Hosking told his listeners the bottom line in public hospitals was: "If it's 4:30, we're going home." There's a bit more to it than that. While there is some extra capacity in theatres, many more people would have to be paid for more hours to do more out-of-business-hours. They don't have all the staff to do a lot more of elective surgeries, in either public or private hospitals And as the Herald' s Thomas Coughlan reported earlier this week, Treasury reckoned the Health Delivery Plan targets could mean increased spending cut targets in the year ahead. Health workforce pay increases would be limited to a degree described as "unprecedented," Treasury documents also stated. In the Herald , Brown rejected Treasury's conclusions. He said government provided Health NZ additional funding in three successive Budgets and Treasury had not consulted the Ministry of Health or Health NZ before reaching its conclusions. "Why do we still have 10 days' sick leave?" Hosking also asked the PM last Monday. He said the question had been put to him by "my tech guy" working at his house. The tech guy got a headline-making response on that from the nation's leader. "So we had five sick days until Jacinda [Ardern] decided we needed ten for Covid. Can we agree that it's gone-ish - and therefore we might need to do something about sick leave?" Hosking asked. "We might need to do things about pro rata and sick leave as well, because you know, people who are on part time contracts are getting full-time 10-day equivalency. Brook Van Velden is working through some of those issues," Luxon replied. The possibility of that went straight into Newstalk ZB's news bulletins. When the prime minister did his turn on RNZ's Morning Report soon after that, he was asked if he would support a cut in sick leave. "Well, I think there's probably a need for us to look at it ... and just make sure that we've got that setting right," he replied. ZB's political editor Jason Walls was puzzled. "Sick leave is an entitlement that everybody has. So it's not just some beltway story. It is an interesting thing for the Prime Minister to bring up. It was just Mike's mate that was talking about it." But Mike's mates behind the mic at Newstalk ZB were teed up to talk about sick leave all day. "A very strong hint that 10 days of sick leave might be going the way of the dodo," was Kerre Woodham's take when she followed the Mike Hosking Breakfast . "I get that it's a godsend if you are prone to infections during winter, but really spare a thought for the employers." Employers such as perhaps Nick Mills, a hospo guy in the capital who's also the host of Wellington Mornings on Newstalk ZB. "I go with the flow. But I'm in an industry where people take the absolute mickey," Mills told his listeners in the capital. "They're just teasing it a bit at the moment on the fact that it's going to be for only part- time employees, but that's going to change," he said. One hour later they were hearing more on this on ZB in Canterbury from the local host, John MacDonald. When Matt Heath and Tyler Adams took the ZB mic for the full national ZB network at noon, they had a similar sense of what was common sense. "10 days a year? Does the average person walking around need 10 sick days a year? I don't think so," Heath said. The questions for the workplace relations minister Brooke van Velden followed. On ThreeNews and Checkpoint she batted back questions about whether it was a gender issue. She was also taken aback that this was a talking point at all. "The only reason we're talking about this is because Mike Hosking was talking about it this morning. There was nothing from the government side to say we had an announcement to make," she told ThreeNews . In the end it will be months before all this is fully aired in Parliament, long after Mike Hosking's tech guy first put it on the agenda. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

RNZ News

4 days ago

• RNZ News

'It's very therapeutic for the people' - first full knee replacement surgery in Far North town

Erica Whyte and her surgeon Dr Rob Coup. Photo: Supplied / Health NZ A woman who has had the first full knee replacement surgery in the Far North town of Kaitaia says being able to have the operation in her own community - supported by whanau - was a "therapeutic" and "holistic" experience. Kaitaia Hospital has recently become the first rural hospital in Northland to have capacity for knee replacement surgery - years after hip joint replacement surgery first became available in Kaitaia in 2018. Health New Zealand (HNZ) said the achievement is a major step forward in expanding advanced surgical care closer to home for Far North residents. Surgeons travel to Kaitaia from Whangārei once every one to two weeks to do the operations. Seventy-year-old Coopers Beach local Erica Whyte, who had her left knee operated on in Whangārei in 2019, said the surgery on her right knee last month was a much more comfortable experience. "Being close to the hospital, being part of the big whanau community up in the far north, and going to a local hospital and having surgery there, it was totally different to driving down to Whangārei, anybody wanted to visit me was a four hour round-trip, Kaitaia was half an hour to come visit me," she said. "Just the ability to be able to be in your own community, to have medical treatment, it's just holistic and it's very therapeutic for the people," she added. Four weeks on from the operation, Whyte said she can now walk without aid and has a 100 percent bend in her knee. Whyte said she was stoked for locals, particularly those living on the Aupōuri Peninsula - who would have needed to travel three hours on a bumpy road to get to Whangārei for treatment. "When you're only a few days post surgery, it's a painful operation, it's not something you want to spend two or three hours sitting in a car on the way home, so for me to spend half an hour [being driven] home, was fantastic," she said. The Kaitaia theatre team with Dr Coup. Photo: Supplied / Health NZ Whyte, who has arthritis, said she first got onto the waiting list for knee replacement in 2018, and it was over a year's wait until she got her more severely affected left knee replaced in late 2019. She said the pain in her right knee was manageable for some years, until it deteriorated in the middle of last year when she became reliant on a walking pole, painkillers and anti-inflammatories. Whyte saw a doctor in July last year, but it was not until February this year that she got her first specialist appointment to discuss knee surgery options. She said she was initially told that it would take 10-15 months for her to get surgery done. But the opportunity to be selected as an ideal candidate for the first knee replacement surgery in Kaitaia brought her surgery forward by about a year. Whyte said she was told by the doctor that she was suitable for the operation in Kaitaia, as she had no co-morbidities like diabetes, which meant her operation was lower risk for an operation at Kaitaia Hospital where there was no back up ICU. HNZ general manager surgical services in Te Tai Tokerau Katy Wilkinson said the recruitment of three new orthopaedic surgeons to Northland in January has been key to making this complex procedure possible. "Having these three new orthopaedic surgeons is just a wonderful asset for our team, it's growing the future of our care across Northland, particularly in Kaitaia," she said. HNZ said the additional surgeons means an average of 160 more orthopaedic patients can be seen in a month, across a range of specialities, including diabetic foot clinics. Wilkinson said the surgeons usually stay for a couple of days when they visit Kaitaia - doing operations as well as attending to outpatient appointments. When asked how many knee surgeries can be done in Kaitaia in a year, Wilkinson said they're aiming to complete 12 to 24 operations yearly. She said the number will depend on the availability of the surgeons, how urgent the patients' case is, and how long they've been waiting for. Wilkinson said hundreds of people are on the wait list for knee surgery across Northland. Kaitaia Hospital has two operating theatres, eight day-surgery beds and three recovery beds. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.