More than 10,000 people are on the colonoscopy waiting list at Christchurch Hospital, with surveillance patients waiting an average of five months beyond the date they were clinically due for their procedure.

The figures follow reporting by chrislynchmedia.com on Annette Watson, a 75 year old Christchurch woman who died after Health NZ admitted her surveillance colonoscopy was carried out six months late.

Figures released to chrislynchmedia.com, under the Official Information Act show 10,140 people were on the Gastroenterology department’s active or suspended waitlist as at 19 June.

Of those, 8,376 were surveillance patients, people requiring planned repeat procedures because of an increased risk of bowel cancer or previous findings such as polyps or inflammatory bowel disease.

A further 1,707 were classed as non urgent and 57 as urgent.

The numbers exclude patients in the National Bowel Screening Programme.

Health New Zealand data shows surveillance colonoscopy patients waited an average of five months past their treat by date over the year to 31 May, while new patients waited 6.2 months.

The agency also revealed 2,358 referrals were declined over the same period, including 2,353 for CT colonography deemed unnecessary or better managed through an alternative pathway.

Across Christchurch Hospital and the Ashburton Gastroenterology Clinic, 2,767 colonoscopy, combined colonoscopy and gastroscopy, and flexible sigmoidoscopy procedures were performed in the 12 months to 31 May.

Health NZ refused to break the figures down by clinician type, citing section 18(f) of the Act.

“Undertaking this activity would require Health NZ to divert personnel from their other core duties and allocate extra time to complete this task. The diversion of these resources would impair our ability to carry out our other core functions,” the response said.

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Approximately 3,300 colonoscopies are expected to be completed through outsourcing to private providers this financial year, on top of public capacity. However, up to 22 percent of outsourced referrals are sent back after further clinical review.

“This may occur where patients are assessed as unsuitable for procedures in a private setting (for example due to higher clinical risk), where additional information is required, or where provider capacity constraints apply,” the agency said.

“As a result, the number of outsourced and completed procedures fluctuates regularly and cannot be captured precisely in real time.”

Staffing has slipped since Health NZ’s previous response in January. Christchurch Hospital employs 16 gastroenterologists recruited to 13.15 full time equivalents against a budgeted 13.93, leaving a vacancy of 0.78 FTE it is actively recruiting for. An earlier reported figure of 14.8 FTE was incorrect, the agency admitted.

The agency said the difference was due to “two staff having dual roles outside of gastroscopy which were included (but should not have been)” in the earlier FTE calculation.

Health NZ said demand for endoscopy in Canterbury and South Canterbury continues to grow, driven by an aging population, increasing symptomatic referrals, growing surveillance lists and changes to the age of eligibility for free bowel screening.

Head of Government Services Sasha Wood outlined measures underway to reduce the backlog, including Saturday morning clinics, faecal immunochemical testing to fast track the most urgent cases, outsourcing an additional 500 patients above the yearly 1,990, and the Christchurch Hospital Endoscopy Expansion Project, which remains on track to open in November 2026.

“We recognise there is still more work to do to improve patient waiting times and are working hard to stabilise our waitlist while the above initiatives take full effect,” the response said.

When Chris Lynch Media approached the Government for comment, Acting Health Minister Matt Doocey said, “The Government is committed to ensuring all New Zealanders have access to timely, quality healthcare, including surveillance colonoscopies.

“The Government expects Health New Zealand to continue its focus on stabilising these waitlists in Canterbury so people can receive their surveillance colonoscopies within the recommended timeframes.”

Labour health spokesperson Dr Ayesha Verrall said, “First of all, I want to acknowledge those many thousands of people who are still waiting for their surveillance colonoscopies. It must be a distressing experience to be months overdue.”

“Under Christopher Luxon, healthcare is harder and more expensive to access. This government has broken its promise to expand bowel cancer screening to people over 50 years old. Simeon Brown promised more capacity for colonoscopies almost a year ago, so why are these people still waiting?” Verrall said.

“At the same time, National has brought in a hiring freeze, and continually made staffing and budget cuts to the health system. Outsourcing is not a long term solution, making sure public hospitals are properly staffed for these procedures is.”