A cancer specialist says the scarcity mentality pervading the government's approach to funding healthcare is contributing to high rates of people being diagnosed with cancer after an emergency department visit - sometimes too late to treat the disease.
A new report by the Cancer Control Agency shows New Zealand has the highest rate of post-ED cancer diagnosis compared to eight similar countries.
It found more than half of all lung cancers were diagnosed after an ED visit; and that rate was starkly worse for Pasifika patients at 72 percent, and Māori patients at 68 percent, compared with Pākehā at 48 percent.
Otago University oncology professor Chris Jackson spoke to Morning Report.
