Latest news with #NationalBowelCancerScreeningProgram
The Age
3 days ago
- Health
- The Age
Sydney hospital boss resigns after cancer diagnosis delays revealed
The boss of one of Sydney's busiest health districts has resigned after it emerged patients with cancer were waiting up to a year for essential procedures due to a massive backlog of cases. Less than an hour before they were due to move a vote of no confidence in Western Sydney Local Health District chief executive Graeme Loy, doctors at Westmead Hospital received an email from NSW Health secretary Susan Pearce informing them Loy would be leaving the position next week. 'Graeme has been a passionate advocate for western Sydney, committed to championing key reforms in digital health, integrated care, and workforce development,' Pearce wrote, crediting his role in managing the COVID-19 pandemic in western Sydney, and operating the state's largest vaccination hub at Qudos Bank Arena. Loy has held the position for seven years, overseeing the development of the Westmead Health and Innovation Precinct, and early planning and design for a new hospital at Rouse Hill. Dozens of senior doctors had gathered at Westmead on Thursday evening for an urgent special meeting to vote on a no-confidence motion in Loy, after this masthead revealed at least 21 patients had their cancer diagnoses delayed as the hospital's waitlist for endoscopies surpassed more than 3300 people. Medical Staff Council deputy chair Jenny King told doctors in a letter on Tuesday that multiple members had requested to meeting to 'address serious concerns regarding the management' of Westmead and propose a vote of no confidence in Loy. Loading 'You will all be aware the MSC has advocated for many years for improvement in patient care including excessive delays in clinic review, procedures and surgical admissions,' King wrote. 'This has been a particular concern for those patients with a positive faecal occult blood screen.' The National Bowel Cancer Screening Program recommends a patient with a positive result from the blood stool test should undergo a colonoscopy within 30 days.
Sydney Morning Herald
3 days ago
- Health
- Sydney Morning Herald
Sydney hospital boss resigns after cancer diagnosis delays revealed
The boss of one of Sydney's busiest health districts has resigned after it emerged patients with cancer were waiting up to a year for essential procedures due to a massive backlog of cases. Less than an hour before they were due to move a vote of no confidence in Western Sydney Local Health District chief executive Graeme Loy, doctors at Westmead Hospital received an email from NSW Health secretary Susan Pearce informing them Loy would be leaving the position next week. 'Graeme has been a passionate advocate for western Sydney, committed to championing key reforms in digital health, integrated care, and workforce development,' Pearce wrote, crediting his role in managing the COVID-19 pandemic in western Sydney, and operating the state's largest vaccination hub at Qudos Bank Arena. Loy has held the position for seven years, overseeing the development of the Westmead Health and Innovation Precinct, and early planning and design for a new hospital at Rouse Hill. Dozens of senior doctors had gathered at Westmead on Thursday evening for an urgent special meeting to vote on a no-confidence motion in Loy, after this masthead revealed at least 21 patients had their cancer diagnoses delayed as the hospital's waitlist for endoscopies surpassed more than 3300 people. Medical Staff Council deputy chair Jenny King told doctors in a letter on Tuesday that multiple members had requested to meeting to 'address serious concerns regarding the management' of Westmead and propose a vote of no confidence in Loy. Loading 'You will all be aware the MSC has advocated for many years for improvement in patient care including excessive delays in clinic review, procedures and surgical admissions,' King wrote. 'This has been a particular concern for those patients with a positive faecal occult blood screen.' The National Bowel Cancer Screening Program recommends a patient with a positive result from the blood stool test should undergo a colonoscopy within 30 days.
Sydney Morning Herald
20-06-2025
- Health
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Not manageable': Patients waiting up to a year for cancer diagnoses at Sydney hospital
A woman who waited 139 days to discover a tumour taking up one-third of her bowel and another diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer almost a year after her first referral are among cases which have caused doctors at one of Sydney's biggest hospitals to sound the alarm on their dysfunctional department. At least 21 patients have had to wait up to 363 days for a cancer diagnosis due to massive demand for endoscopies at Westmead Hospital, doctors said in a letter sent to hospital management on Thursday. The letter warned these cases, which included a man in his 60s diagnosed with oesophageal cancer 252 days after his first referral, were 'likely a significant underestimation of the problem' because thousands of patients were waiting longer than recommended for the procedure. There were 3356 patients on the endoscopy waitlist at Westmead as of last month, about half of which were 'category 1' cases needing the procedure within 30 days. About 2500 patients did not have a date for their procedure. The average wait time for those eventually diagnosed with cancer was 178 days, ranging from 47 to 363 days, the doctors said. No patient had their cancer diagnosed within the 30 days recommended by the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program, and many exceeded the 120-day maximum wait time recommended by the Cancer Council. 'The significant delays are largely because Westmead has significantly fewer anaesthetic lists than equivalent-size peer hospitals,' the letter said. 'Delayed cancer diagnoses are now a regular occurrence which is devastating for patients and demoralising for staff.' Jeremy Chapman, a retired former director of renal medicine at Westmead, said it was concerning that so many patients were having their cancer diagnosis delayed.
The Age
20-06-2025
- Health
- The Age
‘Not manageable': Patients waiting up to a year for cancer diagnoses at Sydney hospital
A woman who waited 139 days to discover a tumour taking up one-third of her bowel and another diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer almost a year after her first referral are among cases which have caused doctors at one of Sydney's biggest hospitals to sound the alarm on their dysfunctional department. At least 21 patients have had to wait up to 363 days for a cancer diagnosis due to massive demand for endoscopies at Westmead Hospital, doctors said in a letter sent to hospital management on Thursday. The letter warned these cases, which included a man in his 60s diagnosed with oesophageal cancer 252 days after his first referral, were 'likely a significant underestimation of the problem' because thousands of patients were waiting longer than recommended for the procedure. There were 3356 patients on the endoscopy waitlist at Westmead as of last month, about half of which were 'category 1' cases needing the procedure within 30 days. About 2500 patients did not have a date for their procedure. The average wait time for those eventually diagnosed with cancer was 178 days, ranging from 47 to 363 days, the doctors said. No patient had their cancer diagnosed within the 30 days recommended by the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program, and many exceeded the 120-day maximum wait time recommended by the Cancer Council. 'The significant delays are largely because Westmead has significantly fewer anaesthetic lists than equivalent-size peer hospitals,' the letter said. 'Delayed cancer diagnoses are now a regular occurrence which is devastating for patients and demoralising for staff.' Jeremy Chapman, a retired former director of renal medicine at Westmead, said it was concerning that so many patients were having their cancer diagnosis delayed.
Sydney Morning Herald
18-06-2025
- Health
- Sydney Morning Herald
More young people are getting colon cancer. Here is what you can do to protect yourself
Do you want the good news, or the bad news? The good news is that the rates of colon cancer in the over-50s are falling. The bad news? Cases of colon cancer, also known as bowel cancer, are rising in younger people, with numbers more than doubling in Australia since 2000. Australia now has the highest rates of reported early-onset colon cancer among 50 countries worldwide. While the falling rates in older Australians have coincided with the introduction of the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program, attention is now turning to the alarming rise among young people, with one in nine Australians diagnosed with bowel cancer under the age of 50. The list of suspects for the increase is long, but rising rates of overweight, obesity and inactivity in younger adults are major contenders, says Professor Karen Canfell, professor of public health at the University of Sydney. 'There's already good evidence that they can cause colon cancer, and a major line of inquiry is the extent to which under-50s are now affected by them – it's likely to explain part of the phenomenon.' Diet, alcohol, smoking, early exposure to antibiotics, and infection from bacteria are other suspects. So is a relative newcomer: microplastics, those invisible fragments of plastic in food and water that can end up inside us, say a group of researchers and colorectal surgeons from Monash University and Cabrini Health in Melbourne. Loading Not-so-fantastic plastic Reading their recent summary of what's known so far about the impact of microplastic in the gut in the ANZ Journal of Surgery makes you regret ever sipping water from a plastic bottle or diving into a takeaway container of green curry – especially when you learn that adults consume up to 52,000 particles each year, with babies and small children potentially taking in more via plastic drink bottles. 'We're seeing more young patients with rectal and distal colon cancer, often without the usual risk factors. This motivated us to explore whether microplastics could contribute in some way,' says senior author Dr Vignesh Narasimhan, a colorectal surgeon at Monash Health and Cabrini Hospital.
