Source: Kia Manawanui Trust | The Heart of Aotearoa New Zealand
A mum needing an essential heart scan was told she’d have to wait ten months – at the earliest – for an appointment.
Māhina Ngāpō is battling stage three breast cancer and needs an echocardiogram every three months to ensure she can undergo life-saving treatment.
But she was shocked when Wellington Hospital said there was no chance of that – and health experts say her case is all too common.
The Heart of Aotearoa – Kia Manawanui Trust Medical Director Dr Sarah Fairley says Māhina needed to have this scan before her next round of treatment due to the potential long-term risk of harm to her heart.
“I’m pleased we were able to advocate strongly and bring Mahina’s appointment forward, but, sadly, this isn’t always the case.”
Luckily, Māhina’s story has a happy ending – but only after she fought the system alongside a cardiologist to make it happen sooner.
“Honestly, I feel like one of the lucky ones,” Māhina says.
“I couldn’t have started my radiation without having this scan, as my heart showed a small amount of damage at my last scan.
“If I hadn’t been able to start my treatment because of the huge delays in New Zealand to have an echocardiogram, then who knows what that could have meant for me and my whānau?” the 42-year-old says.
“My mindset is that advocating for yourself is the only way you will get the heart services you need, otherwise, you’ll get lost in the system.”
Dr Fairley says the waitlist for a heart scan (echocardiogram) is out of control.
The waitlist has ballooned to 10 months for a semi-urgent scan in some regions – the acceptable timeframe is 6 to 8 weeks, she says.
“Patients like Māhina would not be put in the position of self-advocacy if we had a fully-staffed and appropriately resourced public healthcare system”.
However, the echocardiogram issue is the tip of the iceberg, she says.
“We are seeing these delays more and more throughout the system.”
The Heart of Aotearoa – Kia Manawanui Trust Chief Executive Ms Letitia Harding says cases like Māhina’s show the pressure our heart health system is under.
“It’s like Russian roulette with people’s lives because the system is severely underfunded, under-resourced, and under-staffed.
“People shouldn’t have to wait in fear that they might not get an echocardiogram in time, with the very real possibility that they could die on the waitlist,” Ms Harding says.
“That’s why The Heart of Aotearoa – Kia Manawanui Trust was established – to draw attention to the issues we face in the cardiology space.”