A Dunedin man, who says he was declined an urgent colonoscopy at Dunedin Hospital, sought treatment privately in another centre and was found to have bowel cancer, is pleased the service is coming under scrutiny.
He said the public system, once people were within it, was terrific, but he believed the "gate-keeping" was excluding people who genuinely needed further assessment.
He did not want to blame doctors who worked hard, were extremely skilled and who "didn't want anyone to drop dead", but said it seemed the system of choosing who should receive colonoscopies was not working as well as it should.
He was speaking out in the hope that things would change for the better for others in his position.
The man, in his 50s, said he was referred by his general practitioner for a colonoscopy to a private specialist several years ago after he presented with concerning symptoms.
It was declined, with advice from the specialist that he should eat some bran cereal, he said.
About a year later, he saw his GP again with more symptoms suggestive of possible bowel cancer - low iron, changed bowel habit, occult bleeding and weight loss.
He was also in pain and feeling quite ill.
On that occasion, his doctor attempted to have him admitted through the emergency department, but said he was told he would only be sent home as the symptoms were not sufficient for admission.
When the man and his wife checked out the possibilities for a private colonoscopy at Mercy Hospital, they discovered there was a wait of at least six to eight weeks with no guarantee of an eventual appointment in what they considered a suitable time, he said.
They decided to pursue the matter at a private clinic in another centre.
Within a week of contacting the clinic, bowel cancer, which had proceeded beyond the first stage, had been diagnosed and surgery undertaken, he said.
The experience cost the family many thousands of dollars.
While it would be hard to determine what effect the delay would have had on the progression of his cancer, he believed it had clearly advanced between appointments with his GP and it was widely accepted that "early detection and action is the best thing".
"The longer you leave things with cancer, it only goes one way".
The private specialist who carried out the surgery had told him he considered his first presentation with a positive faecal occult blood test was sufficient to justify a colonoscopy.
That was the practice at that private centre.
He was told that if an urgent colonoscopy was sought at that centre, doctors were prepared to come to work 30 minutes early to carry them out.
A faecal occult blood test has been suggested as the initial test for the national screening programme which is being planned.
His private surgery has been followed up with radiation and chemotherapy organised through Dunedin Hospital, a service he described as marvellous.
