Labour vows uniform cancer care
The Labour Party is promising to end the ‘‘post-code lottery’’ of cancer care, ensuring every New Zealander has access to the same level of treatment.
If elected, Labour would establish a National Cancer Agency tasked with ensuring those diagnosed in Northland have as good a chance of surviving as those in Wellington.
Leader Andrew Little, who beat cancer himself, said it was unfair that different parts of the country had such different levels of care.
‘‘As someone who has survived cancer, I know how this disease can devastate sufferers and their families. What really worries me is that cancer care can be a ‘post code’ lottery,’’ Little said. ‘‘People in Auckland, for example, have a lower rate of radiation treatment than people in Wellington. People in Northland have a lower rate of radiation treatment than those in Canterbury. That’s not right. It’s not fair.’’
Little noted that Australians are more likely to survive cancer and have access to better cancer drugs.
Labour’s cancer agency would cost $10 million to set up and another $10m to get work under way immediately. Year to year costs would vary depending on the investment that various District Health Boards (DHBs) might need to bring their care up to a consistent national standard.
It would bring together many government groups and networks already working on cancer care and screening under one roof.
The agency would set targets to reduce death rates and make sure that clinical trials were available to Kiwis from anywhere in the country. It would work with each DHB to make budget bids for more equipment and staff so they could bring care up to a national standard.
A recent Ministry of Health report showed that cancer care for the 22,000 Kiwis diagnosed every year was unequally distributed across New Zealand. The report, which cites distance as one barrier, found people who live in Northland, South Canterbury and Nelson-Marlborough are less likely to get radiation therapy than those in Wellington, Waikato and Christchurch.
Fred Futschek is campaigning for better care outside of cities after his wife Marie Futschek died from stomach cancer.
The Wanaka couple were denied financial assistance from the Ministry of Health because Marie had been referred to Dunedin Hospital by her GP, not a specialist.
But there was no resident specialists in Wanaka, as is the case in many small towns across New Zealand.
Ministry of Health Manager of cancer services Dawn Wilson said further investigation was needed to assess why there was a variation in cancer treatment across New Zealand.
Labour is promising to boost health spending by $8 billion over four years, on top of what the Government has already indicated.
It claims the Government had underfunded health to the tune of $2.7b over the past nine years.
‘‘Voters face a clear choice this election – better healthcare or tax cuts,’’ Little said.
Little was diagnosed with earlystage prostate cancer in 2009, at the age of 43, but has since received treatment and been given a clean bill of health. He said the experience gave him ‘‘a stronger determination to strive for a system that is genuinely fair for everyone’’.
Living in Wellington gave him ‘‘options’’ he knew others around the country didn’t have. ‘‘I can’t imagine how horrible that experience would be for someone who had to drive for hours to get treatment.’’
National Party campaign chair Steven Joyce said a new agency wouldn’t solve anything.
‘‘Labour’s proposal of setting up yet another agency is very underwhelming. We simply don’t need more health bureaucracy,’’ Joyce said. ‘‘We need to keep the focus on achieving better cancer care faster, and that’s what this government is doing. New Zealand performs well internationally in terms of overall cancer outcomes. There is more to do and we are investing heavily, including increasing Pharmac’s medicine budget and rolling out the national bowel cancer screening programme.’’
He said the Government had just rolled out of the biggest increase in the health budget in 11 years.