Cancer patients are suffering and dying because they're are missing out on vital scans such as MRIs - that's the blunt assessment of an oncologist from Southern District Health Board.
Southern cancer treatment waitlist reaching 3 months or more
9 Mar, 2021 07:16 PM
3 minutes to read
The Government sets a target of 62 days for a person to have their first specialist appointment after a cancer diagnosis. Photo / NZH
The Government sets a target of 62 days for a person to have their first specialist appointment after a cancer diagnosis. Photo / NZH
Otago Daily Times
Southern cancer treatment waiting times are creeping back up towards three months or more, prompting the Cancer Society to write to the district health board to plead for urgent action to help affected patients.
This is the second time in three years the Otago-Southland division of the society has tackled the Southern District Health Board over waiting times, having also raised the alarm in mid 2019 as patients were regularly waiting more than three months to be seen by specialists.
Despite the challenges presented by New Zealand’s recent shift back to Alert Level 2, the Oamaru Opera House remains unrattled.
Changing alert levels were just part of life now, director Frances McElhinney said, and the Oamaru Opera House would simply adapt, move forward and change dates when it had to.
“We are unable to control it, so we’ll adapt to it.”
The recent Covid-19 alert level change led to the disruption of three shows at the Opera House, including the “frustrating” postponement of its Marlon Williams concert, scheduled for March 3.
About three-quarters of the concert venue was booked, but under Level 2 the Opera House was unable to socially distance the audience.
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