6986 (2024). Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall to the Minister of Health

6986 (2024). Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall to the Minister of Health: What progress, if any, has been made in the last quarter (September – December 2023) in implementing the recommendation ‘consider measures to understand the variation between DHBs and consider a national quality improvement programme for the treatment of low rectal cancer’ in the Bowel Cancer Quality Improvement Report 2019?

Hon Dr Shane Reti: I am advised that during the last quarter, Cancer Control Agency was finalising the route to diagnosis report, which looks at people diagnosed with cancer within 30-days of an emergency or acute (unplanned) hospital admission. I am further advised that understanding the current situation and working towards improved detection and diagnosis pathways will in turn assist with understanding and improving treatment approaches and outcomes. While this report does not focus solely on bowel cancer, exposing variation between districts for many cancer types, will assist with cancer system improvement programmes.