A leading health professor is calling for heads to roll at the Southern District Health Board, after a new report into its colonoscopy services proves it's still not up to scratch.
It’s the fifth report in to the service since 2017.
It's been nearly a year since Melissa Vining lost her husband Blair to bowel cancer - his fight for better cancer care made national headlines.
Bowel cancer, along with several other cancers, is often picked up by a colonoscopy.
It's a service that's simply not up to scratch in the Southern DHB, as highlighted in a new damning report.
“I feel angry and the management of the SDHB needs to be held to account,” Vining told 1 NEWS.
The report highlights there's been no increase in colonoscopy provision between 2013 and 2019, whereas nationally it’s increased by 45 per cent for the same period.
One expert is frustrated, saying this is the fifth review on the issue since 2017.
Professor Phil Bagshaw outlined his concerns in a report just 18 months ago.
“I’ve no confidence that they're going to do anything different this time, that’s why I do honestly believe that some people just have to go,” Bagshaw says.
Health Minister Chris Hipkins is also disappointed in SDHB’s progress.
“It clearly isn’t good enough and the DHB acknowledges that it isn’t good enough, so they’ve got some plans in place to run around their performance and we'll be watching very closely to make sure they do,” Hipkins says.
The report makes six recommendations to improve bowel cancer service.
Among them, improving referrals so most urgent patients receive priority, upgrading the booking system and increasing capacity for colonoscopies.
The Southern District Health Board refused to be interviewed by 1 NEWS on the matter, saying the board is aware of the challenges in the colonoscopy service and the efforts to address these in recent years.
The hospital board will meet to discuss the report on Tuesday.
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