Media release from the Waikato District Health Board

A top placing in today's publication of the six health targets results is a gratifying result confirming that Waikato provides the best access to radiotherapy services in the country, says Waikato DHB chief executive Craig Climo.

Waikato DHB, which also provides regional oncology services for Lakes and Bay of Plenty DHBs, not only met the six week target but also a four week target not due in place until December this year.
Clinical director Dr Leanne Tyrie said the Waikato DHB-provided service was very patient focused.

"We want to treat people as we would want to be treated ourselves. Cancer is such a stressful diagnosis. Timely therapy reduces the stress, gives the patient a focus, and a plan and that leads to a better treatment experience."
The target is that everyone needing radiation treatment will have this within six weeks of his or her first specialist assessment.

"Radiotherapy continues to be a star performer for us," said Mr Climo.
Radiation therapy is the use of high-energy beams to kill cancer cells or prevent them from reproducing.

The two main goals are to:
• Cure cancers where possible
• Relieve symptoms in non curable situations
A team provides the treatment:

• radiation oncologist is a doctor who specialises in the use of radiation in the treatment of cancer and who decides on and supervises treatment

• radiation therapist is the technologist who prepares the patient and gives treatment

• oncology nurse specialises in the care of patients with cancer
• medical physicists who work directly with the team in the treatment planning and delivery.

"Nobody likes a patient to wait for cancer treatment so if we could meet a two week target, we would," said Dr Tyrie.
Oncology operations manager Shelley Donnell said the service concentrated on ensuring its processes were right. By doing that, it made it easier to meet the target.

"Our target is actually measured from when you first see your radiation oncologist and is only measuring radiation capacity not other therapies such as chemotherapy."

"The most stressful part is from waiting from diagnosis to seeing a radiation oncologist. That can be awfully long and still needs to be addressed.
"Once here though we do our best to make sure the next part of the journey is less stressful."

Patients may be waiting for scans so they are not included in the target and excludes those who put their radiation therapy off for personal reasons.
"Plus a patient may come in and Leanne decides she needs more x rays, more follow up from other services - they're not ready to treat - so they are excluded out of the target and sometimes we have patients who go away and want to think about it before committing to treatment.

"There are a whole lot of complex reasons why patients may not have their treatment started at a particular time

"The target is all about capacity here."

However, while Waikato is leading the way now, Dr Tyrie warned that staffing issues could create problems later this year.

By next week, Waikato will be seven radiation therapists and one physicist down. Waikato usually employs 33 therapists and two physicists.

"We are trying to recruit overseas and encouraging radiation therapists to come back from overseas and we are encouraging our part timers to pick up more time but there is a national shortage," said Ms Donnell.

About 38 train each year for a three-year radiation therapist degree through Otago University at the Wellington School of Medicine campus.
Waikato takes three each year.

"Those shortages might impact on our ability to meet that four week target," she said.
"It will be interesting to see what the credit crunch in the UK does for us. That is where a lot of our New Zealand trained staff are based. Working overseas may become less attractive. "
Dr Tyrie said young people finishing their OE tend to like coming back to Waikato.
"They enjoy working here; they want to come back to us."
It was no surprise to see radiotherapy treatment as one of the health targets, she said.

"The public sector has been chronically under resourced in terms of both workforce and technology capacity. This is a driver to improve that across the country.

"I'm not surprised we have met it because we've always been very creative and we've always been the first to do most things in terms of meeting targets. It's gratifying. We may not continue to meet it because of staffing issues but it will improve healthcare resource to radiation departments across the country."
Dr Tyrie predicts a cancer target will remain but could change to chemotherapy waiting times.
"Chemotherapy at Waikato is now going to be our new focus because it is under-resourced in terms of staff and our facility is cramped."

Waikato is not treating more radiation patients but is doing it differently in a more labour intensive way making it more complex than it was a decade ago. This places strain on capacity.

"I think the treatment of cancer is foremost in mo
st New Zealanders' minds. High quality timely treatment is what they want.
"You can put off smoking for another day perhaps but I don't think you'll put off your cancer treatment," she said.