37 weeks to see specialist
‘‘I understand there are patients in a more serious state than me, but I’m in immense pain and I’m on painkillers morning, noon and night. ’’
Bruce Botha will have to wait 37 weeks – almost nine months – for a specialist appointment about his debilitating spinal condition.
He said the news, which came in a letter from Te Whatu Ora, is ‘‘hard to take’’.
The target for a first appointment with a specialist is four months from a GP’s referral. It’s often the first step towards muchneeded treatment or surgery.
The 62-year-old Takanini resident’s condition can be traced back to an accident he had on a pool slide in 1997, when he broke his tailbone and seriously injured his hip.
Botha’s condition worsened and he eventually underwent surgery in 2019 to fuse two vertebrae in his spine. But despite the operation his troubles didn’t end and he had surgery twice in 2020.
Botha was told by a specialist in August he had a cyst on his spine, but there wasn’t much more they could do for him and he was given a cortisone injection.
However, he said his condition deteriorated this year and his GP then referred him to see a specialist. He received a letter from Te Whatu Ora on March 7, which states: ‘‘The specialist has given your referral a priority of 2 and the approximate wait time for an appointment is 37 weeks.’’
Botha said his condition has limited his ability to work and he takes a daily cocktail of drugs, ranging from tramadol and codeine to gabapentin and Sevredol, an opioid.
Last month he sought help at Middlemore Hospital’s emergency department and, after waiting almost 10 hours, he was admitted.
The next day he was moved to a ward, but Botha said he was discharged because his condition wasn’t critical.
‘‘I understand there are patients in a more serious state than me, but I’m in immense pain and I’m on painkillers morning, noon and night.
‘‘It’s affected me in every way possible. I can’t pick up my grandchildren and even my relationship with my wife has been affected,’’ he said.
National Party health spokesman Shane Reti said the wait times for specialist appointments in Counties Manukau are out of hand and Botha’s situation is unfortunately far too common.
‘‘That 37 weeks is just to see a specialist, not surgery, so he is facing a long wait and that is unacceptable for someone who is in pain,’’ he said. ‘‘That’s well beyond the four month target and it’s very disheartening.’’
Waiting lists for a first specialist appointment have continued to grow in Counties Manukau.
Figures from Te Whatu Ora from January show 7481 patients on the waiting list in Counties Manukau for a first specialist appointment, up from the 4296 at the same time last year. A 74% jump in 12 months.
There were 1459 patients waiting for a first specialist appointment in orthopaedics in Counties Manukau in January 2023.
Te Whatu Ora was approached for comment for this story.
A spokesperson from Te Whatu Ora said its policy was to not respond to individual patient cases, even if they had signed a privacy waiver.
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