Canberra cancer patients wait longer for treatment

According to the report, 58 per cent of patients with terminal cancer started their radiotherapy within two weeks of the doctor deciding they needed it (well short of the targeted 90 per cent of patients receiving treatment within that time).

Between 2014 and 2017, at least 80 per cent of cancer patients who needed palliative care each year were treated within two weeks of being diagnosed.

53 per cent of those who were not terminally ill but needed radiation therapy to stop their cancer from spreading were treated within four weeks (also short of a targeted 90 per cent).

Each year between 2014 and 2017, the figure was 82 per cent or higher.

For emergency cases, all patients received treatment within two days.

The ACT Health report blamed a raft of factors for the worsening of treatment times for all but the most urgent cases, including the "increasingly complex treatment techniques and related treatment delivery times, increasing demand and workforce shortages".

A spokesman for Canberra Health Services said new equipment was due to be installed in 2019, and that would improve treatment and lower waiting times.

The spokesman said there had already been a big improvement in the last few months, and by the middle of September this year, waiting times for treatment were down to one week.

Part of the problem, he said, was an increase in demand for cancer treatment - up by 6.5 per cent over the previous year.

"This increased demand created additional challenges in meeting target wait times for palliative and radical treatments," he said.

There have been ongoing issues with cancer treatment in Canberra.

Last month, Canberra Hospital radiologists warned staff shortages meant cancer patients' previous scans were being ignored and trainee specialists were working unsupervised.

Some CT scans were being sent away to be examined because of a shortage of radiologists. This, radiologists said, hampered treatment because scans were being viewed by people unfamiliar with the particular patient.

The Health Services spokesman said, though, that previous scans of a patient were sent with more recent ones so they could be compared.

Shadow Health Minister Vicki Dunne blamed the Labor government for a lack of investment.

"Most alarming is that cancer equipment is too old to deal with the complex needs of our patients", Mrs Dunne said.

"We have a new cancer centre. Why wasn’t the equipment updated with the new centre?

"This government is not looking at trends and making decisions ahead of time, and this is creating adverse outcomes for patients in Canberra."

At the time of writing, there had been no comment from ACT Health Minister Meegan Fitzharris's office.