Year-long cancer diagnosis delays at Westmead have sparked warnings the entire health system is in crisis.
Media reports over the weekend revealing that some patients were waiting up to a year for cancer diagnoses at a major Sydney hospital, Westmead, confirm the NSW health system has moved beyond breaking point, says the doctors’ union.
The Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation NSW executive director Andrew Holland said patient safety and lives were “now being put at unacceptable risk”.
“These delays don’t happen because doctors aren’t working,” he said.
“They happen because the system they work in has been stripped bare. This is the cost of inaction.”
The Sydney Morning Herald revealed on the weekend that at least 21 patients waited up to 363 days for a cancer diagnosis due to massive demand for endoscopies at Westmead Hospital.
The SMH quoted a letter from doctors sent to hospital management on Thursday. It also revealed a woman who waited 139 days to discover a tumour taking up one-third of her bowel and another diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer almost a year after her first referral were among cases that had moved the doctors to sound the alarm.
“There were 3356 patients on the endoscopy waitlist at Westmead as of last month, about half of which were “category 1” cases needing the procedure within 30 days. About 2500 patients did not have a date for their procedure,” the SMH reported.
“The average wait time for those eventually diagnosed with cancer was 178 days, ranging from 47 to 363 days, the doctors said.
“No patient had their cancer diagnosed within the 30 days recommended by the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program, and many exceeded the 120-day maximum wait time recommended by the Cancer Council.”
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NSW health minister Ryan Park said the reports were concerning and NSW Health was “urgently reviewing” the matter, while a spokesperson for Western Sydney Local Health District apologised to patients affected by the delays.
They said an independent review was underway, and a hotline was set up for patients with concerns.
Mr Holland said the Westmead story was not an isolated case and reflected what doctors across the state have been warning for years.
“The revelations at Westmead are devastating, but they’re not new,” he said.
“Doctors have warned that without enough staff, capacity and support, patients would be left waiting and that would impact their care. Now the public is seeing what that looks like.”
He said the NSW Government’s continued reliance on reviews, inquiries and working groups was “no substitute for action”.
“You can’t treat cancer with a media release. You can’t run a hospital system on the goodwill of exhausted clinicians,” said Mr Holland.
“The government keeps promising reviews but what we need are more doctors. And we cannot attract and retain doctors in NSW without addressing their pay and conditions.
“Our members are committed to caring for patients, but they are being pushed to breaking point by unsustainable working conditions.
“This isn’t a health system under pressure, it’s a health system breaking down. Doctors have done their part. It’s time the NSW Government did theirs.”