The audit of up to 32 referrals to Dunedin Hospital's colonoscopy service has begun and a report is due on November 30, acting lead chief executive for the Southern Cancer Network David Meates confirmed last week.
The report will go both to the Otago District Health Board and to the Minister of Health, Tony Ryall; who called for an urgent report about three weeks ago on the issues raised by some general practitioners in a survey leaked to the Otago Daily Times.
Mr Meates said a detailed audit tool had been developed, which would compare data from patient notes with the criteria for assessing referrals established by the Otago District Health Board and the national Clinical Priority Assessment Criteria (CPAC) for both diagnostic and surveillance colonoscopy.
"Benchmarking data from around New Zealand, supplied by the Ministry of Health, will be a further point of comparison."
Mr Meates said the work would be carried out by an experienced auditor and a Southern Cancer Network project manager.
Ethics approval had been given by the multi-region ethics committee, he said.
The audit would be limited to the cases highlighted by general practitioners who responded to the South Link Health informal survey, which was organised by Prof Murray Tilyard.
Earlier last week, the Otago District Health Board advised there would be up to 32 patients' referrals audited.
Not all of the cases outlined in Prof Tilyard's survey would be included, because access to the full patient records had been denied in some instances.
Mr Meates said only those where there was full access to patient notes would be audited.
"Information will be accessed from patient notes in primary and public and private hospital records, if appropriate."
Consent for this access would be sought.
Prof Tilyard organised the survey because there was increasing concern among Otago general practitioners about access to colonoscopy services.
Some of the respondents said patients with symptoms of bowel cancer had been denied colonoscopies and were later found to have the disease.
Concern has also been expressed by some doctors that the service was not following national guidelines for either diagnostic colonoscopy or the surveillance of those considered at increased risk of developing the disease.
In 2007, because of pressure to provide diagnostic colonoscopy, the service announced it would no longer be able to routinely offer surveillance colonoscopy in accordance with the national guidelines.
• Mr Meates is the chief executive of the Canterbury District Health Board. He is acting lead chief executive for the Southern Cancer Network in place of Otago District Health Board chief executive Brian Rousseau, who has stepped aside to ensure there are no conflicts of interest.
