43684 (2024). Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall to the Minister of Health

43684 (2024). Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall to the Minister of Health: What progress, if any, has been made in the last quarter (January to March 2024) 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 this quarter (January to March 2024), the Cancer Control Agency published the report titled ‘Route to diagnosis: People diagnosed with cancer within 30-days of an emergency or acute (unplanned) hospital admission’, which provides data and analysis for 22 cancer types, including bowel and prostate cancers, by ethnicity. While this report is focused on diagnosis, not treatment or outcomes, I am further advised that understanding the current situation and working towards improved detection and diagnosis pathways will in turn assist with improving treatment approaches and outcomes, including for low rectal cancer and reducing the need for emergency bowel surgery. Exposing variation between districts for many cancer types, as the 'Route to diagnosis’ report does, will assist with cancer system improvement programmes. Please note further that the Bowel Cancer Quality Improvement Report 2019 was superceded by the Bowel Cancer Quality Improvement Monitoring Report Update, which was published in April 2022. This report update presents data for seven bowel cancer quality performance indicators, including rectal cancer treatment and emergency surgery. I am advised that the Monitoring Report Update provides data and analysis regarding the proportion of people with bowel cancer undergoing major resection who have emergency surgery. Understanding different districts' performance against this indicator is the first step in understanding where to target cancer system improvement programmes.