Travel for cancer treatment approach questioned

The Southern District Health Board’s approach to telling people their cancer treatment will be carried out in Christchurch is "a little bit fascist" a board member says.

The SDHB recently agreed a contract with Christchurch private hospital St George’s for it to treat up to 200 breast and prostate cancer patients.

SDHB specialist services executive director Patrick Ng told a hospital advisory committee meeting yesterday that patients would be told going to Christchurch was the pathway for their treatment, so that they would be seen in a timely manner.

"I thought that was a little bit fascist ... I was not supportive of that idea," Lyndell Kelly, who as well as being a board member is an oncologist, said.

"Some people have difficulties uprooting for seven weeks to go to Christchurch. To put it to them that it’s your life or go to Christchurch is pretty tough, but it’s a difficult situation."

Southland board member Kaye Crowther supported Dr Kelly, and said family support was vital for someone going through radiation therapy.

"What if you are a young mum with little kids, and you suddenly have to go to Christchurch, where you might have no support system?"

Mr Ng said if getting to Christchurch posed extreme difficulty for individual patients then the board should reconsider, and that money was available in the travel funding for the treatment to bring a support person.

"We can’t be absolutely black and white, but we do want to encourage uptake by everyone."

The radiation oncology waiting list was now 115, down from a peak of 157 a couple of months ago, Mr Ng said.

"The key to use continuing to get it down is to continue to use outsourced services well."

The board has also prioritised the hiring of 16 additional oncology service staff - radiation oncology registrars, medical physics staff, a radiation therapist, medical oncologists, a medical registrar, a haematology oncologist and a haematology registrar.

A recruitment company had been engaged and a campaign was about to begin, Mr Ng said.

"Five of the roles are RMO (Resident Medical Officer) roles, and a key concept is growing our own workforce.

"We have a lot of retirements coming up and we have got to have a junior workforce we can turn into a senior one."

Additional nurses would also be hired.

A new, second CT scanner for Dunedin Hospital was on track to be delivered by the end of July, Mr Ng said.

"I think it is somewhere off the coast of Malaysia at the moment, and in the meantime the build of the space for the second scanner is progressing as quickly as we can.

"We are due to have the machine installed and to go live with it late August or early September."

Staff were being recruited to handle the extra cases the scanner would be available for, and work was also being done in expectation that the board would, as previously indicated, authorise the purchase of a new MRI scanner for Dunedin Hospital, Mr Ng said.

However, there were other issues with CT scanning, as a provider in Oamaru was now no longer able to staff sessions outsourced to it, Mr Ng said.

"That creates a little bit of risk for us going forward."

mike.houlahan@odt.co.nz