Blundell s complaint stated Davidson said many Māori were in prison and could not access screening – but this should not be a problem “as there is so much rectal probing, so ‘they’ could do their own examinations”. Blundell, who is a member of Māori cancer group Hei Āhuru Mōwai, was scheduled to present on his work supporting Māori men with prostate cancer and their whānau immediately after the debate.
Stuff
Urologist Peter Davidson says his comments at a conference in Queenstown were hurtful. He is pictured here with Stuff reporter Lee Kenny for a story on prostate examinations.
A Christchurch urologist’s jokes about rectal examinations of Māori prison inmates during a Queenstown conference has sparked the resignation of the society s leading medic. In a complaint to the Urological Society of Australia and New Zealand (USANZ), Rawiri Blundell, a member of national Māori cancer group Hei Āhuru Mōwai, said the comments at the November 14 conference were among the most offensive and ill-informed he had ever heard. The comments were made during a panel-led debate about whether Māori men’s reluctance to undergo a digital rectal examination prevented them from being screened for prostate cancer.