Patient told of year-long wait for colonoscopy after positive bowel cancer screen

Tasmanian man may wait up to a year for procedure after positive bowel cancer screen In short: A Tasmanian man has been told he could wait between six to 12 months for a colonoscopy despite being on an urgent wait list, following a positive bowel cancer screening result. Bowel Cancer Australia says timely detection is important, with the majority of bowel cancer cases treated successfully if picked up early. What's next? The Tasmanian Health Department says demand for endoscopy services has grown, and several initiatives have been implemented to improve access across the state. When Tony* returned a positive test result in June from a bowel cancer screening kit, he was told by his doctor that he would be put into the most urgent category for a colonoscopy. The procedure, which was meant to happen within 30 days, needs to be performed to confirm whether or not he has bowel cancer. It's now been close to 80 days. The Tasmanian Health Service has told him that, with approximately 1,000 people on the wait list, he could be waiting six to 12 months for the procedure. Tony, whose name has been changed to protect his identity, has effectively been left in limbo, a state he described as somewhere between frustration and anxiety. "My kids know that I've returned a positive test," he said. "They're stressing about it too because they know that dad's returned a positive sample, but there's nothing being done about it basically." Elective surgery wait times, and delays to surgery within clinically recommended time frames, have been a well-documented and long-running issue for the state. But information on wait times for endoscopies — a procedure using a "scope" to look inside someone's body — are difficult to find in Tasmania. That's because unlike elective surgeries, the health department does not publicly publish the number of scope procedures performed, the percentage of patients seen within clinically recommended time frames, or the median wait times to undergo a procedure. The information that is publicly available — in department annual reports, annual service plans and department statements — shows the state has continued to complete more endoscopies each year. It completed about 13,500 last year, and aims to deliver over 13,000 endoscopy procedures over the 2026-27 period. According to the department, state-wide endoscopy activity, waitlists and the number of patients waiting longer than clinically recommended are being monitored through "operational reporting and state-wide governance committees". High demand impacts wait times People aged between 50 and 74 are recommended to complete a bowel cancer screening test every two years. Since turning 50, Tony has returned two other positive tests from a bowel cancer screening kit. Both times, he underwent timely procedures in Tasmania and was able to confirm he was cancer-free. But this time around, the stress of waiting prompted Tony to contact his local members of parliament for help. He said a letter he received from Tasmanian Health Minister Bridget Archer several weeks later did little to alleviate his concerns. In the letter, seen by the ABC, Ms Archer said clinically recommended wait times may not always be met. "While the recommended time frame is 30 days, wait times can exceed this due to high demand and the need to prioritise cases assessed as emergencies," the letter reads. Ms Archer said the Tasmanian government is investing in additional procedures and service improvements to meet growing demand, and the hospitals are implementing measures aimed at reducing waiting times. These included employing a dedicated triage nurse to strengthen referral processes and outsourcing suitable patients to private clinics. Ms Archer also directed Tony to return to his GP if his health worsened: "Your GP may provide an updated referral to the specialist team, which is the mechanism to enable a clinical reassessment of your condition and appointment." Tony said the letter amounted to "a bunch of platitudes". "It was basically just what I've been told on the phone five or six weeks earlier: 'you've just got to wait'." Early detection important Gastroenterologist and Bowel Cancer Australia spokesperson Associate Professor John Ding said a positive bowel cancer screening result did not guarantee an individual had cancer. However, with 90 per cent of bowel cancer cases considered curable if picked up early, he said early detection was important. Associate Professor Ding said delayed diagnoses led not only to worse treatment outcomes, but also increased pressure on hospitals when patients presented later with more complex or life-threatening health issues. "The category system is there to give patients access to care," Associate Professor Ding said. "But it also prevents unnecessary complications that can occur if a patient were to wait longer than 30 days." He said a timely colonoscopy served a two-fold purpose, firstly as a diagnostic tool for bowel cancer and then as a preventative measure by identifying and removing pre-cancerous growths. A Tasmanian Health Department spokesperson said the demand for endoscopy services had grown. The spokesperson said several initiatives had been introduced to improve access, including the development of rural generalist endoscopist services to support capacity in the north west. Tony said he hoped to see a greater investment in Tasmania's health sector so that increasing demand for procedures could be met. "Let's say they get me in next week and I am diagnosed with bowel cancer," Tony said. "Is there going to be a wait then to get that fixed?"