Colonoscopy cancercheck wait anxious

DESPITE being urged by health practitioners to get regular bowel checks, Southland man Ben McHugh may have to wait up to a year to receive a vital colonoscopy.

After losing his father to bowel cancer as a young boy, and then close friend Blair Vining just last year, he had since taken a more proactive approach to his health, he said.

Five years ago, his first colonoscopy revealed three polyps which were later removed.

‘‘I was lucky they got me in pretty quick for that because if you wait too long, they can become cancerous.’’

This, combined with his family history of bowel cancer, meant he was now at an intermediatelevel risk of developing the cancer and needed a colonoscopy every three years.

He had only inquired about his colonoscopy checkup in June last year, and was still waiting.

‘‘I expected to wait about three or four months. When I rang in September they said it would have to be late October and admitted they were running behind.

‘‘It got to December and I was thinking bloody hell . . . you can’t help but think the worst in the back of your mind.’’

Earlier this week, he rang the Southern District Health Board for the fourth time since June.

It was then he was told it could be as late as April before he got in, and even then, it was not guaranteed.

At this point, he was feeling ‘‘frustrated more than anything’’ about Southland’s health system.

‘‘It’s a bit of a kick in the guts after everything Blair and Missy [Vining] did. It just feels like nothing has changed.’’

Before his death late last year, Southlander Blair Vining and wife, Melissa, drove a rigorous campaign for better cancer care in New Zealand after Mr Vining was diagnosed with stagefour bowel cancer and given eight weeks to live.

The petition made its way to Parliament which prompted the Government to announce its New Zealand cancer action plan 201921.

Although Mr McHugh could afford private health insurance, which would ensure he was seen sooner, he was reluctant to do that, he said.

‘‘I sort of felt like I would be jumping in line, that’s why I’ve held off [getting insurance]. There’s so many people who are waiting, some might be waiting three times as long as I have.’’

But the potential of having to wait a year was no longer worth the risk, he said.

A post made this week on globally followed social media page, Blair Vining’s Epic Journey, which detailed Mr McHugh’s predicament, was flooded with comments within minutes.

‘‘There were so many people saying they had been waiting for ages. I had some people offering to pay for my private insurance. The generosity of people has been unbelievable.’’

Due to the fact he could afford to pay for it himself, he asked they donate the money to Southland Charity Hospital — an initiative set up by the Vining family last year to help deal with the surge of colonoscopy referrals in the region.

In an article published in the Otago Daily Times last year, SDHB chief executive Chris Fleming said, ‘‘I would encourage the charity hospital to focus on things that are not currently able to be resourced and funded by the health system rather than doing our job for us’’.

Concerns were raised late last year about surveillance colonoscopies being delayed in Southland.

The DHB’s target is for 70% of those eligible to have the procedure within 84 days of their planned date. In November, the board’s performance was 60%.

In response to questions in early December, the board said staffing was a factor in this with a new staff member expected to begin in January.

A spokesman said people on a surveillance programme were at a lower risk for having ‘‘significant colorectal pathology’’ than those who returned a positive test for blood in faeces from bowel screening, because in most cases, they would have undergone a lowrisk colonoscopy within five years.

❛ It got to December and I was thinking bloody hell . . . you can’t help but think the worst Ben McHugh