Sask. NDP flagging surgical biopsy delays, report says wait times can top 3 weeks
The provincial NDP says delays for surgical biopsy results need to be reduceded after the provincial auditor flagged wait times as an issue.
The auditor's report, released on Tuesday, says that as of September there are about 1,300 biopsies waiting to be analyzed between Saskatoon and Regina.
It says routine biopsies should take five business days and more complex ones should take up to 15 days, but the average was 12 days in Saskatoon and 19 days in Regina.
Wait causes stress, treatment delays
Delays can cause additional stress for patients, according to the report. NDP Leader Ryan Meili said it can also delay treatment.
"Obviously this is a real concern," Meili told reporters in Saskatoon on Wednesday.
He was joined by Health Critic Vicki Mowat and Saskatoon bus driver Ralanda Hall, who is scheduled to have a surgery on Thursday due to a growth in her lower abdomen.
She says she was told it will take two to three weeks to find out if the growth is cancerous.
"That's really hard," Hall said. "I have a young child at home. I have a husband. I have a family. We would like to know what this is sooner rather than later so we can tackle it in a way that needs to be tackled."
She said the results could take even longer since the growth is being analyzed during the holidays.
"I'm looking at probably close to the middle of January before I get my report back. That's a really long time to wait," she said, noting that her doctor wanted the surgery to happen as soon as possible due to the size of the growth.
Government to look at recommendations
"This is not a new issue to the government," said Mowat. "It's something that they should have been able to foresee, and it's something that they should be actively working on."
The auditor's report says, "The Authority needs to take a consistent province-wide approach to analyzing, diagnosing, and prioritizing surgical biopsies,"
The Ministry of Health says it is reviewing the report, while the Saskatchewan Health Authority is developing plans to address its recommendations.
