However, a Dunedin man who raised the issue last month has dismissed the pledge as more "politicking".
In a statement to the Otago Daily Times yesterday, Labour Taieri MP Ingrid Leary and Dunedin list MP Rachel Brooking said a Labour government would ensure "nationally consistent access" for positron emission tomography (PET) scans and provision of PET scans in Dunedin.
"Unfortunately, some inconsistencies from the DHB [district health board] model remain.
"One of these inconsistencies is that some patients receive a funded PET scan in Auckland but not in the South Island.
"Labour is committed to rectifying this inconsistency."
Since Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand (HNZ) was created 14 months ago, work had been under way on a new national list of agreed access criteria for PET scans, the MPs said.
The new list would mean nationally consistent provision of PET scans, they said.
Representatives of the National Radiation Advisory Group, the Cancer Control Agency and HNZ had worked on the list of criteria.
"Currently the decision on the list and its funding is sitting with Te Whatu Ora," the MPs said.
After a prostate cancer diagnosis and then surgery to remove his prostate, Murray Muir, 70, of Dunedin, got blood samples that showed the cancer was still present.
He drove to Christchurch and paid $3850 for a PET scan to identify where the cancer had spread so his treatment could be targeted.
When he learned the scans were funded in other parts of the country, he sent 18 emails contesting the fee.
The answer he received from Ms Leary had only been a commitment to look into the problem, not fix it, he said.
And to that end, a commitment to nationally consistent access signalled progress.
"It’s got a lot of merit, that," Mr Muir said.
"But like everything else, they’re not saying when."
His past efforts to have his scan funded and to raise the issue had caused him to lose faith in those he was seeking answers from.
"It’s just politicking — ‘I’ll look into it, I’ll look into it’," Mr Muir said.
At present, there are no PET scanners in Dunedin, but Pacific Radiology has announced one will be operational in Dunedin in 2025.
All PET scans in New Zealand are provided privately for now.
The Labour MPs said their party had aspirations to move provision in-house.
National health spokesman Dr Shane Reti said the party would "distribute health resources, including wait time resources, with consistent clinical criteria across all regions".
