Health authorities are faulting one local hospital for a 20-week delay in performing an MRI exam, which could have caught a patient’s terminal cancer sooner.
New Zealand’s Health & Disability Commissioner said Monday that the postponement represented a “systemic failure” and a breach of consumer rights. The agency, tasked with investigating patient complaints, is recommending that Dunedin Hospital apologize to the man and provide a progress report on how it is working to address the error.
“Deputy Health and Disability Commissioner Dr. Vanessa Caldwell concluded that the unacceptable delay in carrying out the man’s MRI scan, and the missed opportunity for earlier diagnosis and treatment of his cancer, was not care of an appropriate standard,” the office said Nov. 6.
The case dates back to late 2021 when a man with a history of cancerous melanoma visited the Dunedin, New Zealand, hospital complaining of leg pain. An orthopedic surgeon examined the individual and requested an urgent MRI to check for possible cancer recurrence. Standard practice at the time was for the patient to undergo imaging within 31 days of the order, the H&DC said. However, the scan was not completed until 20 weeks later. By then, the cancer had metastasized, causing compression to his spinal cord.
“This delay meant further spread of the cancer through my spine and organs, resulting in the current situation whereby the cancer is now not survivable,” the patient said in the report.
In response to the incident, Dunedin Hospital and its overseeing authority are undertaking several remedies to avoid such lapses in the future. They’ve installed an additional MRI scanner, helping reduce wait times from 15-20 weeks down to 4-6 weeks as of March. The institution also has updated its referral-management policy “so that staff have the necessary guidance to ensure appropriate management” of such urgent cases. Finally, health authorities also are aiming to install a digital solution to improve tracking of cancer patients through their diagnosis, treatment and surveillance.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.