George Watkinson has a family history of bowel cancer — his brother, father and uncles all died from the disease.
The 71-year-old Orepuki resident said there was still no word from Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand (HNZ) on when his colonoscopy would take place.
He was on the NZ Familial Gastrointestinal Cancer Service register and was supposed to have a colonoscopy every two years due to his family history.
This had been the routine for over two decades, and the appointments usually fell on schedule, or just a little over.
Mr Watkinson said his next appointment had been due in May this year, but this time the month came and went without a date being set.
A letter sent to Mr Watkinson by HNZ that month said there was "a delay in these procedures occurring in Southland".
Dunedin had the capacity to offer the procedure sooner if he preferred, the letter said.
Mr Watkinson said it was too difficult and expensive to make the journey to Dunedin, so at first he waited, hoping the appointment in Invercargill would soon be set.
He then contacted HNZ, explaining the predicament and was told to contact Work and Income about a payment to cover expenses.
However, by then it did not seem a Dunedin appointment would be any faster, so he decided not to switch.
There was too much politics in the health system, and those in charge needed to "wake up" and make sure it did what it was supposed to do.
Southern healthcare was inadequate, although cancer-patient advocate Melissa Vining was doing amazing work, he said.
Worrying was something he tried to avoid, but the situation was annoying and he would be angry if it turned out there was something wrong.
"If it comes back that I’ve got cancer and it could have been detected six months ago, the s ... will hit the fan then."
This follows the release of a health and disability commissioner (HDC) decision last week which found the former Southern District Health Board breached standards after a man had to wait 12 weeks for a colonoscopy which revealed terminal colon cancer.
The decision said the man, who had a family history of colon cancer, had four admissions to Dunedin Hospital between April 2018 and October 2019.
HNZ data for between January 2020 and June this year showed colonoscopy wait times had improved in the South this year, as reported by the Otago Daily Times last week.
However, Mr Watkinson said he did not believe it.
HNZ Southern also provided the HDC with updated data on wait times for colonoscopy services as requested in the decision released last week.
As of early this month, there were 33 surveillance patients waiting an average of 13.6 days for a colonoscopy at Dunedin Hospital.
The longest wait was 37 days.
At Southland Hospital, there were 13 surveillance patients waiting an average of 76.3 days.
However, the longest wait was 217 days.
Southern group director of operations Hamish Brown said long-waiting patients had been booked for their colonoscopy, or it had been delayed due to their choice or health issues.
HNZ sympathised with patients waiting for care, he said.
"We encourage any patients with concerns while waiting for a colonoscopy to contact their GP in the first instance and report any new or change in bowel symptoms."
Financial support was not currently available for patients travelling to an alternate location for a procedure under the National Travel Assistance scheme.
The scheme was being redesigned and HNZ aimed to introduce improvements next year, Mr Brown said.
"We remain committed to developing a system where everyone in Aotearoa has fair, accessible, quality healthcare services closer to home."