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Nurses 'afraid to come to work' at mental health facilities

Otago Daily Times

an hour ago

Otago Daily Times

Nurses 'afraid to come to work' at mental health facilities

By Sam Sherwood of RNZ An inquiry into Canterbury's Mental Health Services found "significant" problems in the service's governance, care model and resourcing. The findings included "critical staff shortages," staffing vacancies affecting admissions and discharge processes, a "siloed culture and care model", concerns about the service's governance and delayed resourcing decisions at the regional governance level. The final report, released three years after it began, has 18 recommendations aimed at addressing the key issues. Health New Zealand (HNZ) has acknowledged the "significant failings" and is committed to implementing the recommendations. The daughter of a woman murdered by a mental health patient last year says the report "confirms a very broken mental health system". "I think it's a tragedy this report has taken so long so long to be finalised and released. I can see numerous aspects in it that, if they had been remedied earlier, could have prevented the death of my mother." Director of Mental Health Dr John Crawshaw began his inquiry under section 99 of the Mental Health Act in June 2022 after Hillmorton forensic mental health patient Zakariye Mohamed Hussein murdered Laisa Waka Tunidau as she walked home from work. Hussein was on community leave at the time of the killing. It is only the second time such an inquiry has taken place. Dr Crawshaw released his review on Tuesday. He said drafting of the report took longer than anticipated due to several factors including the extreme weather events in 2023 and delays in receiving key information. Dr Crawshaw said in his report the inspection arose from concerns he held "as to whether there were systemic issues in these services". "The Director needed assurance that the services were complying with legislation and related guidelines, and were able to deliver appropriate care and treatment for tāngata whaiora [patients or consumers] under their care." 'Critical' staff shortages Dr Crawshaw said at the time of the inspection the then-Canterbury District Health Board (DHB) had a population of nearly 600,000 people and was one of the largest DHBs. The district had been exposed to several significant events including the earthquakes of 2010/2011, several serious floods, the Kaikōura earthquakes, Port Hills Fire, the Christchurch terror attack and Covid-19. The events contributed to "increased strain" on specialist mental health services and said the mental health services were "not well placed" to meet the additional strain. His report said the "most significant and prevailing issue" concerned staffing in the clinical areas, especially the adult inpatient, community and forensic services. "In the inpatient areas, there were daily issues in ensuring minimum safe staffing levels." The divisional leadership team had "significant concerns" about the number of staff vacancies and the "relatively junior nature" of the clinical staff in some areas. When the inspection took place the impact of Covid-19 was a "significant exacerbating factor". "While the effects were different across the various disciplines, it was evident that all disciplines … were affected. In addition, it was clear that not all disciplines felt heard and involved in clinical decisions. "There were reports of impacts on clinical care. Forensic mental health services were particularly challenged. Not only were there issues in maintaining minimum safe staffing levels, there were issues associated with the experience and seniority of staff." There were "critical shortages" of staff in many areas of the service, particularly inpatient units. "Clinicians frequently used the phrase 'on numbers', referring to being deployed to an inpatient unit to bring up the numbers of staff on a roster to a perceived safe capacity. "The inspection team heard concerns that people were working overtime and double shifts, to meet the 'on numbers' expectation. While the magnitude of the issue was unclear, it was raised repeatedly by staff in interviews. Some staff stated that they no longer wished to do overtime and double shifts due to the level of personal stress and strain it caused them." Dr Crawshaw said in some interviews a "palpable level of distress was evident". The staffing shortages appeared to particularly impact forensic mental health services, he said. "The clinicians seemed tired. There was a sense that many of them were no longer putting in discretionary effort, due to fatigue and burnout. Many clinicians spoke of the 'moral injury' they experienced by being obliged to provide suboptimal care to tāngata whaiora." Staff 'afraid to come to work' In relation to nursing staff, Canterbury, like other services across the country, had a challenge with a "missing middle" - nurses who were "competent and experienced but still have a long career in front of them". When the inspection was carried out there was a group of staff nearing retirement. They appeared "fatigued and were possibly experiencing burnout". Some of the new graduates had been placed in "unsafe situations". "For example, a newly graduated registered nurse spoke of arriving for a shift at the forensic mental health inpatient unit and being told that they would be the shift leader, a task they felt wholly unprepared for." Some nursing staff were "afraid to come to work" with an "unacceptably high rate" of assaults on nursing staff by patients. "Staff reports of experiencing the clinical environment as unsafe were particularly prevalent in forensic services. There, staff described how a number of senior staff had recently left, particularly from the acute medium secure unit. "This had left both a gap in staff numbers and a gap in expertise. Some staff appeared to be distressed by and angry at the situation; particularly those working in the acute medium secure forensic ward." The service capped inpatient beds to ensure minimum staffing levels, with 193 beds. At the time of the inspection there were 178 in use or available. Dr Crawshaw said the response, while "understandable" from the desire to maintain minimum safe staffing levels, had "brought challenges". Some staff said there were occasions when patients needed to be managed overnight in a unit or ward different to the one they were admitted to, and others felt there was "general pressure" for early discharge or delayed admission. "Community staff raised concerns regarding the perceived risks they were holding and managing as a result. Some expressed concern that this was resulting in suboptimal care for tāngata whaiora." The bed number caps also meant that sometimes people with serious mental illness who had not entered treatment through the justice system "fell out of care or were unable to be admitted". Frontline forensic mental health staff expressed "significant concern" about their safety and ability to provide a service. "The inspection team heard there was a particular difficulty in the acute medium-secure unit. Apparently, a significant number of senior staff had retired or left that unit, affecting both staff numbers and experience levels." Of the staff in the unit 50 percent had less than three years' experience working in health services. 'Culture of blame' Dr Crawshaw said that on numerous occasions, the forensic mental health clinical governance team raised concerns to senior management about shortages of staff in the service. The inspection team also heard there was a tendency to blame individuals. "Interviewees used the term 'a culture of blame' and described situations where bullying had occurred and staff had been prevented from escalating issues due to a fear of repercussions." He said overall the staff appeared "dedicated to providing the best care they were able to". However, they felt care was compromised in several ways including staff limitations, and the increased pressure for early discharge. "In some cases, people required readmission following discharge, or, where they were not readmitted, their mental state and care deteriorated in the community. "Sometimes, staffing and bed capacity issues meant admission was delayed for people who required care." Dr Crawshaw said the observations were similar to what he had heard from other services around the country. "However, staff in Canterbury - Waitaha were particularly stressed." There were also concerns about how the service was incorporating te ao Māori into their model of care. "This was of particular concern to the inspection team given the cultural needs of the people accessing the forensic mental health services at the time of the inspection." The inspection team had "significant concerns" about the functioning of operational and clinical governance within the service. He was also told that clinical governance at a district level was not working effectively and that an emergency framework had been put in place. Dr Crawshaw did not receive a draft clinical governance structure at a level above the service until March 2024. "Staff reported difficulties in the escalation and consultation processes and gave examples of issues that had not been effectively resolved." He said there was an "overall reactive mode of governance". "Senior leadership was aware of the impact of staffing issues and had been putting reactive plans in place under urgency to address this (often daily). However, this very short-term focus compounded governance and communication issues." He said nationally all mental health, addiction and intellectual disability services are "under pressure". Several common challenges included mental health services struggling to improve access for Māori, the need for mental health services being greater than available sources and a "shortage" of suitably qualified mental health clinicians as well as a need for investment in facilities. "When things go wrong during the delivery of mental health services, service providers are subject to intense scrutiny and criticism. As a result, many mental health clinicians practice in a risk-averse manner. This also affects staff recruitment and retention." Dr Crawshaw's 18 recommendations looked at three of the main concerns raised: governance, care model and resourcing. "The uniting thread across these recommendations is the need for better cooperation between leadership and service delivery to prioritise these services, enable staff to do their best, improve the models of care and plan for the future." His recommendations included prioritising and focusing on mental health service performance, implementing clear pathways of decision-making and governance, and reviewing the care model. He also recommended the organisation focus "maximum effort" on staff recruitment, retention, supervision, training and mentoring. There also needed to be strategies developed long-term management, budget, staffing and facilities as well as establishing and investing in a Māori mental health service. 'Significant failings' HNZ national director of mental health and addictions Phil Grady acknowledged the "significant failings" identified in the report. HNZ was "committed" to implementing the recommendations to "prevent the tragic events of 2022 and 2024 from happening again". "We recognise the loss and grief these families have and continue to experience and express our sincere condolences to them. We are deeply sorry for the failings in our systems. "We have reached out to these families to apologise and discuss Dr Crawshaw's report, and will remain in contact, if that is their choice, to update them on progress to implement actions from the report." HNZ accepted all of Dr Crawshaw's findings and had an action plan in place to implement the recommendations, which focused on the underlying issues related to governance, the care model, and resourcing. "We are focused on continuing to provide senior leadership oversight of planning for the service, building a framework, and ensuring there is sufficient staff with the right level of training and experience to safely and effectively deliver services." Grady said there had been "demonstrable progress" on key recommendations including establishing a clinical governance framework and increasing clinical staffing by 11 per cent since 2022. Clinical decision making on patient leave was "consistent with policies" and there were weekly audits of compliance in place. "There are clear pathways both within the service and nationally within Health New Zealand to escalate and manage risk. " In addition to recommendations identified in the report, HNZ had already made improvements to embed regional planning, decision making and information flow, increase staff recruitment, upskilling and training across the service, develop a cultural narrative to include a te ao Māori perspective, and upgrade a range of facilities. "To ensure progress of the recommendations continue, we welcome Dr Crawshaw's increased oversight of the service over the next 12 months. "We are committed to improving the service and our actions will be closely measured against this report, and two other event reviews conducted by Health New Zealand." 'A very broken mental health system' In June another Hillmorton mental health patient, Elliot Cameron was sentenced in the High Court at Christchurch to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 10 years for murdering 83-year-old Frances Anne Phelps, known as Faye in October last year. Phelps' daughter, Karen Phelps, told RNZ that while the report did not specifically address her mother's case there were "many serious issues" identified that had "negatively impacted the ability to deliver services". "Most of these issues are no surprise as they were blatantly apparent in my mother's case namely staff shortages, communication and governance issues, pressure for early discharge and not enough funding to provide adequate services and care. "It's no surprise that Elliot Cameron was encouraged to move out of Hillmorton, that he was not being supervised or under treatment and his aggravated symptoms were not addressed. This report confirms a very broken mental health system. "So now the question remains will this be remedied, which will require significant funding, and that doesn't seem to be a priority for this government, or will another member of the public be killed? I think it's a tragedy this report has taken so long to be finalised and released as I can see numerous aspects in it that, if they had been remedied earlier, could have prevented the death of my mother. It's a timely reminder that every day counts when serious mental health service issues are identified and every day they are not remedied puts the public at risk." Following his sentencing a suppression order was lifted allowing RNZ to report Cameron killed his brother Jeffrey Cameron in 1975. A jury found him not guilty of murder by reason of insanity and he was detained as a special patient. Cameron was made a voluntary patient at Hillmorton Hospital in 2016, and then in October last year murdered Phelps, striking her with an axe. RNZ exclusively obtained emails from Cameron to his cousin Alan Cameron sent over more than a decade, detailing his concerns that he might kill again. In response to the revelations, Chief Victims Advisor Ruth Money said it was hard to see Phelps' death as "anything other than preventable". RNZ earlier revealed another case involving a man who was made a special patient under the Mental Health Act after his first killing was recently found not guilty of murder by reason of insanity for a second time, after killing someone he believed was possessed. After that article, Money called for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into forensic mental health facilities. After Cameron's first killing was revealed, Money said she stood by her recommendation. "The public deserves an inquiry that can give actionable expert recommendations, as opposed to multiple Coroners' inquests and recommendations that do not have the same binding influence. The patients themselves, and the public will be best served by an independent inquiry, not another internal review that changes nothing."

Nurses 'afraid to come to work' at Canterbury's Mental Health Services

Otago Daily Times

an hour ago

Otago Daily Times

Nurses 'afraid to come to work' at Canterbury's Mental Health Services

By Sam Sherwood of RNZ An inquiry into Canterbury's Mental Health Services found "significant" problems in the service's governance, care model and resourcing. The findings included "critical staff shortages," staffing vacancies affecting admissions and discharge processes, a "siloed culture and care model", concerns about the service's governance and delayed resourcing decisions at the regional governance level. The final report, released three years after it began, has 18 recommendations aimed at addressing the key issues. Health New Zealand (HNZ) has acknowledged the "significant failings" and is committed to implementing the recommendations. The daughter of a woman murdered by a mental health patient last year says the report "confirms a very broken mental health system". "I think it's a tragedy this report has taken so long so long to be finalised and released. I can see numerous aspects in it that, if they had been remedied earlier, could have prevented the death of my mother." Director of Mental Health Dr John Crawshaw began his inquiry under section 99 of the Mental Health Act in June 2022 after Hillmorton forensic mental health patient Zakariye Mohamed Hussein murdered Laisa Waka Tunidau as she walked home from work. Hussein was on community leave at the time of the killing. It is only the second time such an inquiry has taken place. Dr Crawshaw released his review on Tuesday. He said drafting of the report took longer than anticipated due to several factors including the extreme weather events in 2023 and delays in receiving key information. Dr Crawshaw said in his report the inspection arose from concerns he held "as to whether there were systemic issues in these services". "The Director needed assurance that the services were complying with legislation and related guidelines, and were able to deliver appropriate care and treatment for tāngata whaiora [patients or consumers] under their care." 'Critical' staff shortages Dr Crawshaw said at the time of the inspection the then-Canterbury District Health Board (DHB) had a population of nearly 600,000 people and was one of the largest DHBs. The district had been exposed to several significant events including the earthquakes of 2010/2011, several serious floods, the Kaikōura earthquakes, Port Hills Fire, the Christchurch terror attack and Covid-19. The events contributed to "increased strain" on specialist mental health services and said the mental health services were "not well placed" to meet the additional strain. His report said the "most significant and prevailing issue" concerned staffing in the clinical areas, especially the adult inpatient, community and forensic services. "In the inpatient areas, there were daily issues in ensuring minimum safe staffing levels." The divisional leadership team had "significant concerns" about the number of staff vacancies and the "relatively junior nature" of the clinical staff in some areas. When the inspection took place the impact of Covid-19 was a "significant exacerbating factor". "While the effects were different across the various disciplines, it was evident that all disciplines … were affected. In addition, it was clear that not all disciplines felt heard and involved in clinical decisions. "There were reports of impacts on clinical care. Forensic mental health services were particularly challenged. Not only were there issues in maintaining minimum safe staffing levels, there were issues associated with the experience and seniority of staff." There were "critical shortages" of staff in many areas of the service, particularly inpatient units. "Clinicians frequently used the phrase 'on numbers', referring to being deployed to an inpatient unit to bring up the numbers of staff on a roster to a perceived safe capacity. "The inspection team heard concerns that people were working overtime and double shifts, to meet the 'on numbers' expectation. While the magnitude of the issue was unclear, it was raised repeatedly by staff in interviews. Some staff stated that they no longer wished to do overtime and double shifts due to the level of personal stress and strain it caused them." Dr Crawshaw said in some interviews a "palpable level of distress was evident". The staffing shortages appeared to particularly impact forensic mental health services, he said. "The clinicians seemed tired. There was a sense that many of them were no longer putting in discretionary effort, due to fatigue and burnout. Many clinicians spoke of the 'moral injury' they experienced by being obliged to provide suboptimal care to tāngata whaiora." Staff 'afraid to come to work' In relation to nursing staff, Canterbury, like other services across the country, had a challenge with a "missing middle" - nurses who were "competent and experienced but still have a long career in front of them". When the inspection was carried out there was a group of staff nearing retirement. They appeared "fatigued and were possibly experiencing burnout". Some of the new graduates had been placed in "unsafe situations". "For example, a newly graduated registered nurse spoke of arriving for a shift at the forensic mental health inpatient unit and being told that they would be the shift leader, a task they felt wholly unprepared for." Some nursing staff were "afraid to come to work" with an "unacceptably high rate" of assaults on nursing staff by patients. "Staff reports of experiencing the clinical environment as unsafe were particularly prevalent in forensic services. There, staff described how a number of senior staff had recently left, particularly from the acute medium secure unit. "This had left both a gap in staff numbers and a gap in expertise. Some staff appeared to be distressed by and angry at the situation; particularly those working in the acute medium secure forensic ward." The service capped inpatient beds to ensure minimum staffing levels, with 193 beds. At the time of the inspection there were 178 in use or available. Dr Crawshaw said the response, while "understandable" from the desire to maintain minimum safe staffing levels, had "brought challenges". Some staff said there were occasions when patients needed to be managed overnight in a unit or ward different to the one they were admitted to, and others felt there was "general pressure" for early discharge or delayed admission. "Community staff raised concerns regarding the perceived risks they were holding and managing as a result. Some expressed concern that this was resulting in suboptimal care for tāngata whaiora." The bed number caps also meant that sometimes people with serious mental illness who had not entered treatment through the justice system "fell out of care or were unable to be admitted". Frontline forensic mental health staff expressed "significant concern" about their safety and ability to provide a service. "The inspection team heard there was a particular difficulty in the acute medium-secure unit. Apparently, a significant number of senior staff had retired or left that unit, affecting both staff numbers and experience levels." Of the staff in the unit 50 percent had less than three years' experience working in health services. 'Culture of blame' Dr Crawshaw said that on numerous occasions, the forensic mental health clinical governance team raised concerns to senior management about shortages of staff in the service. The inspection team also heard there was a tendency to blame individuals. "Interviewees used the term 'a culture of blame' and described situations where bullying had occurred and staff had been prevented from escalating issues due to a fear of repercussions." He said overall the staff appeared "dedicated to providing the best care they were able to". However, they felt care was compromised in several ways including staff limitations, and the increased pressure for early discharge. "In some cases, people required readmission following discharge, or, where they were not readmitted, their mental state and care deteriorated in the community. "Sometimes, staffing and bed capacity issues meant admission was delayed for people who required care." Dr Crawshaw said the observations were similar to what he had heard from other services around the country. "However, staff in Canterbury - Waitaha were particularly stressed." There were also concerns about how the service was incorporating te ao Māori into their model of care. "This was of particular concern to the inspection team given the cultural needs of the people accessing the forensic mental health services at the time of the inspection." The inspection team had "significant concerns" about the functioning of operational and clinical governance within the service. He was also told that clinical governance at a district level was not working effectively and that an emergency framework had been put in place. Dr Crawshaw did not receive a draft clinical governance structure at a level above the service until March 2024. "Staff reported difficulties in the escalation and consultation processes and gave examples of issues that had not been effectively resolved." He said there was an "overall reactive mode of governance". "Senior leadership was aware of the impact of staffing issues and had been putting reactive plans in place under urgency to address this (often daily). However, this very short-term focus compounded governance and communication issues." He said nationally all mental health, addiction and intellectual disability services are "under pressure". Several common challenges included mental health services struggling to improve access for Māori, the need for mental health services being greater than available sources and a "shortage" of suitably qualified mental health clinicians as well as a need for investment in facilities. "When things go wrong during the delivery of mental health services, service providers are subject to intense scrutiny and criticism. As a result, many mental health clinicians practice in a risk-averse manner. This also affects staff recruitment and retention." Dr Crawshaw's 18 recommendations looked at three of the main concerns raised: governance, care model and resourcing. "The uniting thread across these recommendations is the need for better cooperation between leadership and service delivery to prioritise these services, enable staff to do their best, improve the models of care and plan for the future." His recommendations included prioritising and focusing on mental health service performance, implementing clear pathways of decision-making and governance, and reviewing the care model. He also recommended the organisation focus "maximum effort" on staff recruitment, retention, supervision, training and mentoring. There also needed to be strategies developed long-term management, budget, staffing and facilities as well as establishing and investing in a Māori mental health service. 'Significant failings' HNZ national director of mental health and addictions Phil Grady acknowledged the "significant failings" identified in the report. HNZ was "committed" to implementing the recommendations to "prevent the tragic events of 2022 and 2024 from happening again". "We recognise the loss and grief these families have and continue to experience and express our sincere condolences to them. We are deeply sorry for the failings in our systems. "We have reached out to these families to apologise and discuss Dr Crawshaw's report, and will remain in contact, if that is their choice, to update them on progress to implement actions from the report." HNZ accepted all of Dr Crawshaw's findings and had an action plan in place to implement the recommendations, which focused on the underlying issues related to governance, the care model, and resourcing. "We are focused on continuing to provide senior leadership oversight of planning for the service, building a framework, and ensuring there is sufficient staff with the right level of training and experience to safely and effectively deliver services." Grady said there had been "demonstrable progress" on key recommendations including establishing a clinical governance framework and increasing clinical staffing by 11 per cent since 2022. Clinical decision making on patient leave was "consistent with policies" and there were weekly audits of compliance in place. "There are clear pathways both within the service and nationally within Health New Zealand to escalate and manage risk. " In addition to recommendations identified in the report, HNZ had already made improvements to embed regional planning, decision making and information flow, increase staff recruitment, upskilling and training across the service, develop a cultural narrative to include a te ao Māori perspective, and upgrade a range of facilities. "To ensure progress of the recommendations continue, we welcome Dr Crawshaw's increased oversight of the service over the next 12 months. "We are committed to improving the service and our actions will be closely measured against this report, and two other event reviews conducted by Health New Zealand." 'A very broken mental health system' In June another Hillmorton mental health patient, Elliot Cameron was sentenced in the High Court at Christchurch to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 10 years for murdering 83-year-old Frances Anne Phelps, known as Faye in October last year. Phelps' daughter, Karen Phelps, told RNZ that while the report did not specifically address her mother's case there were "many serious issues" identified that had "negatively impacted the ability to deliver services". "Most of these issues are no surprise as they were blatantly apparent in my mother's case namely staff shortages, communication and governance issues, pressure for early discharge and not enough funding to provide adequate services and care. "It's no surprise that Elliot Cameron was encouraged to move out of Hillmorton, that he was not being supervised or under treatment and his aggravated symptoms were not addressed. This report confirms a very broken mental health system. "So now the question remains will this be remedied, which will require significant funding, and that doesn't seem to be a priority for this government, or will another member of the public be killed? I think it's a tragedy this report has taken so long to be finalised and released as I can see numerous aspects in it that, if they had been remedied earlier, could have prevented the death of my mother. It's a timely reminder that every day counts when serious mental health service issues are identified and every day they are not remedied puts the public at risk." Following his sentencing a suppression order was lifted allowing RNZ to report Cameron killed his brother Jeffrey Cameron in 1975. A jury found him not guilty of murder by reason of insanity and he was detained as a special patient. Cameron was made a voluntary patient at Hillmorton Hospital in 2016, and then in October last year murdered Phelps, striking her with an axe. RNZ exclusively obtained emails from Cameron to his cousin Alan Cameron sent over more than a decade, detailing his concerns that he might kill again. In response to the revelations, Chief Victims Advisor Ruth Money said it was hard to see Phelps' death as "anything other than preventable". RNZ earlier revealed another case involving a man who was made a special patient under the Mental Health Act after his first killing was recently found not guilty of murder by reason of insanity for a second time, after killing someone he believed was possessed. After that article, Money called for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into forensic mental health facilities. After Cameron's first killing was revealed, Money said she stood by her recommendation. "The public deserves an inquiry that can give actionable expert recommendations, as opposed to multiple Coroners' inquests and recommendations that do not have the same binding influence. The patients themselves, and the public will be best served by an independent inquiry, not another internal review that changes nothing."

Bowel Cancer NZ Meets With Health Minister To Push For Screening From Age 45 & Post-Treatment Exercise Programme

Scoop

an hour ago

Scoop

Bowel Cancer NZ Meets With Health Minister To Push For Screening From Age 45 & Post-Treatment Exercise Programme

Press Release – Bowel Cancer New Zealand Bowel Cancer New Zealand met with Hon Simeon Brown last week to push for two life saving measures: lowering the national bowel screening age and introducing a supported exercise programme after chemotherapy The meeting was constructive, with the Minister outlining work taken in response to the charity's screening proposals put to him in February. Work is now underway on both measures – but screening timelines remain unclear. A further meeting later this year was agreed. Work on screening age progressing – but no plan yet Bowel Cancer NZ reiterated its costed proposals, first presented to the Minister in February, showing how the Government can deliver on Prime Minister Christopher Luxon's 2023 pledge to match Australia's screening age of 45. The plans are achievable, affordable, and reinstate earlier screening for Māori and Pacific peoples – groups with worse survival rates under the current one-size-fits-all approach. The Minister confirmed that improvements in investigations for people with symptoms are rolling out from this month – a key enabler for lowering the screening age. He acknowledged that moving to 58 is only a step on the journey, describing it as 'a step, but it's not enough' – signalling the Government recognises the need to go further. Bowel Cancer NZ Chief Executive Peter Huskinson said: 'It's encouraging that our proposals are being taken seriously – but we need solid timelines. Every month that goes by, more than 50 Kiwis in the age group that can access screening in Australia are diagnosed with bowel cancer.' The minister stated that modelling to inform next steps is not expected until late 2025 or early 2026, leaving little time to implement changes before the next election. Under BCNZ's proposals, screening from 45 could be implemented swiftly, with earlier eligibility for Māori and Pacific peoples reinstated. Without this, stark inequities remain, with many people developing bowel cancer before reaching the current starting age of 60. Ball rolling on major survival gains through exercise after chemotherapy Bowel Cancer NZ also presented evidence from the landmark CHALLENGE trial, which shows that a structured behaviour change and exercise programme after chemotherapy increases eight-year survival rates by 7% for Stage 2 and Stage 3 patients – saving more than 50 lives each year in New Zealand. 'This is one of the biggest survival gains we've seen in years,' said Huskinson. 'It's highly effective, highly affordable, and could be rolled out nationwide within 12 months. We want to see the Government champion this and make it standard care.' The Minister responded positively, asking officials to provide further advice and inviting BCNZ to meet with the Ministry of Health and Health New Zealand to discuss modelling and next steps. Next steps The meeting ended with a commitment to meet again. 'Many New Zealanders are frustrated and rightly want faster action. We share those concerns and will keep pressing the case for change,' said Huskinson. 'Kiwis facing the impact of bowel cancer don't have time to wait. Every month matters, and we'll keep advocating until these life-saving measures are delivered.' Bowel Cancer NZ will continue working to ensure all New Zealanders benefit from timely equitable screening, high quality treatment, and innovative post-treatment care – to work towards a future where no life is lost to this disease. More information on bowel cancer and the Bowel Cancer New Zealand charity can be found at

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