Long wait times putting Tasmanians at risk of fatal bowel cancer

University of Tasmania lead author and rural health academic Dr Simone Lee said the researchers, who surveyed more than 3700, found one in three did not know that screening began at 50. Half didn't know that bowel cancer risk increases with age or were confident they would notice any symptoms.

"Tasmanians have one of the highest incidence rates of bowel cancer in the world at 149 per 100,000, and death rates at 32 per 100,000," she said.

"Public awareness of bowel cancer in Tasmania was found to be high overall, with an average awareness score of 68 per cent, yet critical gaps were evident around several key risk factors, symptoms and screening."

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Dr Lee said Tasmanians reported long colonoscopy waiting lists, compounding the issue of delayed presentation.

The latest Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) National Bowel Cancer Screening Program report shows that Tasmania has the highest participation in the program across the nation at 49 per cent, beating the national participation rate of 44 per cent.

Despite this, Tasmania has the longest median wait time between a positive screening and assessment, with the time taken for cases to be seen in Tasmania more than three months longer than the national average.

Dr Lee said that while these screening figures weren't high enough, the higher rates found in Tasmania could have been responsible for some of the higher incidence rates compared to other states.

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"A lot of people, including GPs, said they were waiting more than 12 months in the public system for a colonoscopy after getting a positive result. They should be seen optimally within 30 days," she said.

The Tasmanian Health Dashboard Data shows that those waiting for an urgent gastroenterology appointment in the North are waiting 387 days, while those in the South are waiting 212 days.

The average waiting time for an urgent colorectal outpatient appointment in the South is 126 days, while in the North, patients are waiting 98 days.

Patients waiting for semi-urgent and non-urgent gastroenterology appointments in the North are waiting for 1791 and 2218 days, while those in the South are waiting up to 579 and 1315 days.

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Labor's health spokeswoman Anita Dow said Tasmanians are getting sicker waiting for important diagnostic tests for bowel cancer.

"It is also concerning that these individuals will then be moved to another waiting list for their urgent elective surgery that could potentially save their lives or reduce the severity of their prognosis," she said.

"Currently, 8339 patients are waiting for elective surgery, with 1052 classified as Category 1.

"These are cases that should be seen within 30 days, and it is unacceptable that Tasmanians are waiting this long."

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