The audit follows concerns raised by Otago general practitioners in an informal survey organised by South Link Health executive director Prof Murray Tilyard which prompted Health Minister Tony Ryall to call for an urgent report on the matter.
Twenty-six GPs raised concerns about access to colonoscopy for about 50 patients. They said some of those who had symptoms of possible bowel cancer were denied colonoscopy and were later found to have the disease.
They also raised issues about delays to colonoscopies for some patients and the failure of the board to follow national surveillance guidelines for those considered to have an increased risk of bowel cancer.
The audit has been given approval by the southern ethics committee.
Oncologist and clinical leader of the Southern Cancer Network Dr Shaun Costello said the audit, with provisional terms of reference, had been added to work surveying the journey of South Island colorectal cancer patients for which the network had already been seeking approval.
Patients whose records were to be audited would need to give consent, and the auditors would need access to their full patient records.
At this stage, it was expected that the work would be completed by the end of November.
Dr Costello said many people had become concerned about the issue since the publicity surrounding it.
It needed to be kept in mind "that people get frightened by this sort of thing and we do need to reassure the public."
Mr Rousseau reported that eight GPs had declined to release the National Health Index numbers which would identify their patients.
The Otago Daily Times understands some of these GPs approached their patients or their families and indicated they did not wish to participate.
Mr Rousseau said there had also been some GPs who released the NHI numbers but refused access to their patients' clinical records.
Four doctors who indicated they would only allow conditional access to the clinical record are to be followed up further.
Dr Costello said people who had approached Mr Rousseau's office last week with concerns were not included.
Some of the issues raised by these people had not been connected to colonoscopy services.
Several had concerns about surveillance colonoscopies.
The situation regarding the hospital's policy on provision of surveillance colonoscopies was already known, and adding these patients to the list would not have added extra information.
Confining the cases to those raised by GPs meant there had been a "triage" process, Dr Costello said.
It was also not considered appropriate to include the case of a patient who had raised issues about her treatment with the health and disability commissioner and ACC.
The patient understood to be involved in that case told the Otago Daily Times yesterday afternoon the hospital had not advised her of the decision not to include her in the audit.
• Mr Rousseau advised that to avoid any possible conflict of interest, he had stepped aside as lead chief executive of the Southern Cancer Network during the time of the audit.
Canterbury District Health Board's David Meates would be taking on that role.
Dr Costello will also not be involved with the audit beyond collating the NHI information for passing on to the audit team.
Mr Meates is yet to respond to Otago Daily Times queries seeking further information about the audit.
THE FACTS
> Between 27 and 32 Otago patients are to have their colonoscopy referrals audited by the Southern Cancer Network.
> The referrals involved occurred between 2004 and the present day.
> Between 2004 and 2009, 3120 colonoscopies were carried out at Dunedin Hospital.
> In the past 14 months, the hospital has received 10 complaints from patients about delayed colonoscopies, six of them in the past two weeks.
> Data on the number of gastroenterology department complaints received in the past five years is not yet available.
> The hospital's nine medical services (of which gastroenterology is one) had a total of 80 complaints made about them in 2006, 84 in 2007, 87 in 2008 and 50 so far this year.
