Long waits for cancer patients
Bowel cancer patients needing surgery at Royal Perth Hospital face some of the longest delays in the country, according to a national audit of public hospitals.
They waited 46 to 60 days for surgery in 2012-13, with RPH one of seven hospitals out of 90 which failed to treat most bowel cancer patients within 45 days.
The National Health Performance Authority report found 92 per cent of the 13,697 patients needing surgery for breast, bowel or lung cancer were treated within 30 days, with breast cancer patients the least prone to longer waiting times but those with bowel cancer faring the worst.
The report looked at three of the most common cancers where surgery was a key part of treatment. Most patients had surgery within 30 days but others faced delays at some hospitals that needed to be addressed.
Bowel Cancer Australia chief executive Julien Wiggins said bowel cancer hospital wait times needed improvement.
A Health Department spokesman said many WA hospitals were tracking at or above their peer groups in regard to cancer surgery wait times.
