Manitoba targets cancer wait times

Manitobais spending $40 millionon a program designed to reduce wait times for cancer patients.

The program,the first of it's kind in Canada, is modelled after successful strategies in England and Australia.

It's designed to reduce wait times from the point when cancer is first is suspected to the time when treatment begins.

In Manitoba, that currently takes anywhere from three to nine months. The program aims to reduce that time to under two months in the next five years.

"This is a bold step forward for patients in our province and I am proud that Manitoba will be the first in the country to implement this very important and revolutionary program,"Premier GregSelinger stated in a press release.

Manitoba currently has the shortest wait time in Canada for radiation therapy at one week or less according to the Canadian Institute for Health Information.

This is a standard measure of wait times used in every province but only captures the wait from when a radiation specialist declares a patient ready for treatment to the day the treatment actually begins, according the press release.

This measure does not include other parts of a patients journey such as referrals, testing, diagnosis, re-testing and the development of a treatment plan.

This new initiative will address the entire journey, from when a patients family doctor first suspects cancer until treatment actually begins, said Selinger.

Health Minister Theresa Oswaldsaid that will include creating advocates who will ensure that cancer patients get the care they need within the newly established timeline.

The project is modeled after similar successful initiatives undertaken first in England as well as in New Zealand and Australia.

Prof. Mike Richards, the national cancer director who oversaw the project in England through the National Cancer Plan and the Cancer Reform Strategy, will provide guidance with implementing the strategy in Manitoba.

In 2009, Queen Elizabeth II knighted Richards for his successful and outstanding contributions to cancer reform.

The Manitoba cancer patient journey strategy will include:

• Streamlining health services for cancer patients and prioritizing areas for action.
• Guaranteeing an appointment with a specialist within two weeks or less for urgent referrals.
• Developing a rapid diagnostic network for cancer patients to better link and speed up diagnostic imaging and pathology.
• Introducing cancer patient journey advocates to monitor and help cancer patients and families through their entire journey, identify delays and issues, and work to resolve them to ensure timely diagnosis and treatment.
• Establishing the Manitoba Partnership Against Cancer, a coalition of health-care leaders who will focus on and ensure all parts of the health-care system integrate their services and implement system-wide changes as rapidly and efficiently as possible to deliver patient-centred care.