A constituent who tested positive for cancer has been told he has to wait up to 1 year for a colonoscopy he should have received within 30 days. It’s another sign of a health system that can’t cope with $700 million worth of cuts.
The Greens were contacted by a member of the public, who had a positive bowel cancer screen result in June. He was told by his doctor that he would be put into the most urgent category for a colonoscopy to check if he had cancer.
He should have been seen within 30 days. So far, he’s waited 80 days.
The constituent was told there’s 1,000 people on the wait list, and he’s looking at a wait of 6 – 12 months. This is causing him and his family a lot of stress, and it’s delaying any treatment he might need.
While in response to a Greens’ question in Parliament the Minister said the government were working to increase endoscopy services, the reality is people like Tony are still waiting too long for urgent medical procedures. It’s cold comfort to tell him to go back to his doctor if he gets worse.
If people suspected of having cancer can’t even have it confirmed in the time frame recommended, there’s something seriously wrong with the health system. Tasmanians are paying the price for the Liberals’ $700 million worth of health cuts.
