BCAC Calls Ministry of Health Decision ‘Barbaric!’

8 June 2006

The Breast Cancer Aotearoa Coalition (BCAC) has labeled the latest Ministry of Health (MoH) move to shorten surgical waiting lists as ‘barbaric’. The MoH has instructed District Health Boards (DHBs) nationwide to delete from their lists all patients waiting more than six months for either first specialist assessment or surgery. Failure of DHBs to comply will result in withholding of funds.

‘The Ministry is literally holding a loaded gun to the heads of the DHBs,’ said Libby Burgess, BCAC Chair, ‘and those women currently waiting for reconstructive breast surgery will be caught in the crossfire. Instead of reconstruction they will receive a letter saying they have been taken off the list.’

Of greater concern to BCAC is that the Ministry decision will now force a woman within the public system to decide at diagnosis whether she wants breast reconstruction. The reconstructive surgery must happen at the same time as breast cancer surgery or the reality is it will not happen at all. Some women are considered by their specialists as unsuitable for immediate reconstruction because of the need for ongoing treatment (radiation and/or chemotherapy). Many women prefer to delay their decision because it is emotionally too difficult to make at the time. Breast reconstruction is a major surgical procedure and options must be thoroughly investigated. During surgery, clinical decisions are sometimes made where further treatment may be necessary and so, even if a woman has requested breast reconstruction beforehand, such surgery is impossible at the time.

‘Breast reconstruction is deemed ‘low priority’,’ said Ms Burgess, ‘and a woman doesn’t have a hope of being seen in public within six months. She must choose reconstruction at the time of her initial surgery and if further treatment is needed or initial surgery reveals unexpected problems, she’s just out of luck.

‘This is scandalous. It is standard practice worldwide to offer women access to reconstructive surgery after a single or double mastectomy for breast cancer. It is barbaric to deny breast reconstruction to women in order to tidy up hospital waiting lists. It places even more pressure on women who are struggling to cope with the stress of a breast cancer diagnosis.’

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