Palliative patient waits more than 12 weeks for radiation therapy
New cancer figures show palliative cancer treatment not reaching national target in Hutt New figures show most cancer patients in Hutt in the last year got radiation treatment within the national target of eight weeks from first specialist assessment. But people seeking palliative treatment have been missing out. The figures released in a report to the community and public health advisory committee last week show that about nine out of ten cancer patients got treatment in the eight-week target. Covering the 2007 to 2008 financial year, the figures show that all urgent and curative patients got radiation treatment within the eight weeks. But about one in ten palliative patients missed out on the eight week target ? and one patient was forced to wait more than 12 weeks. Palliative care seeks to improve quality of life and lessen suffering of patients. Board local services improvement facilitator Monica O?Reilly said overall 91 percent of patients waited less than eight weeks for the treatment. ?Nationally around 95 percent of people are being treated within the?timeframe of eight weeks,? she said. She said industrial action by radiation technology staff had impacted on the waiting list times. One of the board?s two radiation machines, a linear accelerator, had also been pushed to capacity, she said. Meanwhile the national waiting time target has dropped for the upcoming year down to six weeks. The board is set to get a third radiation machine up and running by December. ?During 2008-2009 workforce capacity has been increased and this in conjunction with the third linac (radiation machine) should enable the target of seeing all patients within six weeks to be met,? Ms O?Reilly said. Cancer statistics in the report stated the Hutt annual average of cancer deaths from 2001 to 2004 was 287, with on average 616 cancer patients registered and 1408 cancer-related hospital visits.
