Jo Goodhew MP
National Party Associate Health Spokeswoman

18 June 2008

Cancer waiting lists – an ongoing struggle

The Canterbury District Health Board needs to come clean on the real situation regarding radiotherapy waiting lists and times says National Party Associate Health spokeswoman Jo Goodhew.

She is commenting on the report that the latest Health Ministry figures show that Canterbury patients are waiting longer than patients in other regions.

“The report says that only 80% of patients are getting treated within the eight week 'aspirational' target set by the Minister. That is a target which was universally panned by cancer specialists, who backed the Ministry of Health's four week guideline.

“The Canterbury DHB blames the situation on the fact they need to urgently replace a linear accelerator.”

With recent projections suggesting our cancer burden will increase 30% in the next five years, we are always destined to play catch up while we continue to face ongoing infrastructure and health workforce issues.

“Canterbury has the problem this time, but such is the fragility of our cancer treatment service it is just as likely to be another region next month.”

ENDS

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