In the aftermath of the Cameron Inquiry and promised improvements regarding cancer care databases and communication protocols, people are still falling through the cracks, says Opposition Leader Yvonne Jones.

A recent case involves a woman from Labrador who was tested for cancer last June, diagnosed in July and contacted in January. While her results were confirmed as cancer seven months ago, she did not receive any contact from the health authorities until last month.

“Government has made many promises over the past several months to improve communication between the health authorities and patients regarding their illnesses, but it is obvious that more work needs to be done,” said Ms. Jones. “It certainly isn’t acceptable for a patient to go without the results of positive cancer testing for seven months. What happened to the appropriate follow-up procedures that were promised during the Cameron Inquiry?”

Jones also raised concerns regarding the process of communication between Eastern Health and other Canadian testing agencies. The biopsy in this case was sent to the British Columbia Cancer Agency and a report sent to Eastern Health in July. Eastern Health has no record of receiving the report until October when a follow-up call was made and the report resent.

“These situations are very stressful on patients as they await the results of cancer testing. Two problems have been identified in this instance, poor communication between inter-provincial testing agencies and poor communication with the patient. Even after Eastern Health went looking for the report in October, it took officials over three months to advise the patient of the results. This is simply unacceptable and proves that greater efforts are required to look after the needs of patients.