Access to colonoscopies has been "problematic for some time" for both the public and the private health sector, Dunedin National Party list MP Michael Woodhouse says.
The former Mercy Hospital chief executive said waiting lists at the private hospital had been "pushing out" during his time there, and the problem was a symptom of a world-wide shortage of gastroenterology specialists.
Mr Woodhouse was at Mercy for seven years before leaving in 2008 to pursue a political career.
"I think the [health] minister is right to put a priority on the report he has sought from the Otago District Health Board," Mr Woodhouse said yesterday.
In a recent informal survey, some Otago GPs said patients with accepted signs of possible bowel cancer were being refused diagnostic colonoscopies at Dunedin Hospital.
Health Minister Tony Ryall has asked for fan urgent report about patient's access to colonoscopy services at the hospital.
Mr Woodhouse said restricting access to colonoscopies was a false economy because the cost of treatment, including surgery and chemotherapy, if a diagnosis of bowel cancer was delayed, far outweighed the costs of screening.
"Failure to have these people appropriately screened in the early stages of their symptoms is almost certainly leading to very, very costly surgery and treatment down the track.
"If there are ways to avoid those downstream costs and the psychological trauma [for patients], then they should be pursued vigorously."
Mercy Hospital chief executive Richard Whitney yesterday said waiting times could be hard to gauge, but he was not aware of any "undue wait times" at Mercy.
Some patients could wait "weeks", while patients requiring an urgent colonoscopy could be accommodated in the next list.
The number of colonoscopies performed at Mercy was not showing any significant increasing trends.
The private hospital did 333 colonoscopies in 2007 and 348 last year.
It expected to do 350 this year, with 307 done so far.
Yesterday, the Otago Daily Times was still seeking clarification about the number of Dunedin Hospital colonoscopies expected to be carried out this financial year. Figures ranged from 550 to 700.
Mr Whitney said there could be potential for a joint initiative with the public hospital to perform more colonoscopies.
Mercy had capacity in its facilities to do more colonoscopies, if that was an issue at Dunedin Hospital.
However, he did not know if the specialists would be able to do more lists than they did at present at Mercy.
If the issue was with funding, and Dunedin Hospital was doing as many colonoscopies as its funding would allow, then it would be a "matter of where would the funding come from?", Mr Whitney said.
