A letter written by a senior Dunedin Hospital clinician just over a month ago describes Mrs Bungard’s life as "miserable" and urges colleagues to look at her case again. Yesterday, the Southern District Health Board released a statement to the Otago Daily Times apologising for the delay but saying sicker patients took priority. Mrs Bungard (69) has severe ulcerative colitis and has constant diarrhoea and intense pain.
Last August, she was approved for surgery to remove her colon and rectum and fit a pouch.
She had an anaesthetic pre-assessment later that month. But nothing happened to progress the surgery, and in June she was told by emergency department staff it was not even scheduled. Her symptoms are so severe she has had several trips to the emergency department.
Mrs Bungard, of Dunedin, did not want too much detail of the condition disclosed because it was embarrassing.
She had decided to speak publicly reluctantly, and was doing so because her situation was unbearable.
"It’s a devastating thing.
"How acute do you have to be? That’s what I’d like to know," she said.
She avoids certain foods, such as dairy and red meat. When an outing was planned, she did not eat anything beforehand.
"I starve myself, and drink plenty of fluids."
In June, Mrs Bungard’s gastroenterologist, Dr Michael Schultz, wrote a letter about her case to Southern District Health Board chief medical officer Dr Nigel Millar and other senior colleagues.
Dr Schultz said he had been told she was unlikely to get the surgery until 2018.
"I inquired with [a Dunedin Hospital surgeon] regarding future management of this patient and was told that she is one of potentially six patients on the waiting list currently for this type [of] surgery, that it is complex surgery and theatre access has not improved since we last looked at this case."
Released by Mrs Bungard to the ODT, Dr Schultz’s letter said her quality of life was "miserable".
"I would urge you to look into this matter with a degree of urgency.
"I do not think that it is acceptable to have patients on waiting lists for this length of time who are clearly struggling with their condition on a daily basis," Dr Schultz wrote.
He was prompted to write because of a complaint from Mrs Bungard’s brother, Don Sinclair.
"I have received a complaint about the delay of surgery ... and promised to take this further," he wrote.
In response to the ODT, surgical directorate medical director Stephen Packer said the board had to prioritise the "sickest patients".
"We sincerely apologise for the delay Mrs Bungard has experienced waiting for her surgery, and deeply regret the impact this is having on her.
"This reflects our ongoing challenge in prioritising surgeries, where the surgeons’ allocated theatre time may be consumed by more urgent cases, in particular, cancers.
"Surgeons find themselves in unenviable situations in determining which surgeries need to be prioritised, knowing that all cases involve individuals’ lives and wellbeing," Mr Packer said.
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But on the bright side, SDHB deficit is down $11.5 million.
Bring in more surgeons from overseas on contract to do this operations on a 24/7 in public or private hospitals. First thing that needs to happen is to break the self governing cartel of highly paid local surgeons.