Urology wait lists have climbed again as the struggle to recruit staff continues at Dunedin Hospital.
Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand (HNZ) data shows 395 patients were waiting for their first specialist assessment last week, a 29% increase from last October, when it was 306.
The hospital has just two urologists at present, and needs to double that number — but it has failed to do so despite months of attempted recruitment.
Resignations left the department with just two urologists by July last year.
HNZ’s data follows concerns raised by a man who said he had been waiting in pain for five months to see a urologist, as reported by the Otago Daily Times earlier this month.
In early December, after four months of waiting, he received his first official communication from the hospital — a letter from the hospital saying he would be seen within 16 weeks.
However, a hospital staff member told him it would likely be longer, he said.
The mean wait time for a urology consultation was 141 days — or a little over 20 weeks — the data provided by HNZ last week showed.
The median wait was 109 days — or 15.6 weeks — and there were 316 people waiting.
By comparison, in October there were 239 people waiting a slightly shorter median of 105 days.
Biopsy waits were a median of 77 days at present, and there were 18 people waiting.
Although this was fewer than October’s 30-person biopsy waiting list, the waiting time had jumped from a comparatively lower 48 days.
There were 61 patients waiting a median 78 days for the procedure.
By contrast, last October there were 37 people waiting a median 51 days for a cystoscopy.
HNZ Southern group director of operations Hamish Brown said earlier this month support was being provided by Southland urologists, as well as locum staff.
Staff were doing their best to ensure high-quality care, and he thanked people for being patient and understanding.
Mega clinics have been used by the hospital to slice through urology waiting lists in the past.
The strategy — in which specialists from throughout the country converge on Dunedin for a short time — was praised in a 2019 Health and Disability Commissioner report despite heavy criticisms of the service.
Delays in the assessment and treatment of patients posed a consequent "substantial clinical risk", the report found.
By late 2019 there were four urologists working at the hospital, but since then numbers and waiting times have fluctuated.
More than 300 southern patients were seen in a weekend mega clinic last September as the strategy was revived to meet the current shortage of specialists.
Mr Brown said HNZ Southern had begun planning for another one in late March.
"We are appreciative of our continued support from our Te Whatu Ora Urology colleagues."
Changes had been made to prioritise those most in need, including earlier use of diagnostic screening tools and increasing the clinical scope of the urology nursing team, he said.
