Cancer screening 'crisis' as director resigns.................. Why?
Subject: Cancer screening 'crisis' as director resigns.................. Why?
Date: Tue, 5 Mar 2002 14:38:14 -0500
From: Stephen Tvedten <steve@getipm.com>
Organization: Get Set Inc. (www.getipm.com)
To: Paul Helliker <phelliker@cdpr.ca.gov>
Director, State of
California, Department of Pesticide Regulation
cc: Christine Whitman whitman.christine@epa.gov
The shock resignation of the clinical director of the National Screening Unit has thrown New Zealand's breast and cervical cancer screening programmes into crisis, the Cancer Society says.
Society spokeswoman Betsy Marshall said she feared for the future of the screening programmes without Julia Peters, who resigned for "professional and personal" reasons on Friday.
Her resignation could also cause a significant setback in the implementation of some of the recommendations of last year's ministerial inquiry into Gisborne pathologist Michael Bottrill's misreading of 2000 abnormal cervical smears.
The unit was charged with auditing cancer cases to reassure women the mistakes made in Gisborne had not happened elsewhere.
Scottish expert Euphemia McGoogan's report – issued two weeks ago – which assessed the progress of the implementation of the Gisborne inquiry recommendations, said Dr Peters was "severely overloaded".
She warned that the screening unit was severely under-resourced, "particularly at this early stage when so much work is required over a short time-frame to implement the cervical screening inquiry recommendations".
Dr McGoogan said: "As it stands, the full clinical responsibility (for both the cervical and breast screening programmes) is, in effect invested in one person (Dr Peters). In my opinion, Dr Julia Peters is severely overloaded and over-stretched."
The potential impact of Dr Peters's departure was raised by Dr McGoogan, who warned "this situation presents a major risk and cannot be allowed to continue". The report said Dr Peters was trying to provide leadership to both the breast and cervical screening programmes, training and development of new staff, managing the quality, monitoring analysis and audit team, dealing with professional bodies and huge volumes of clinical inquiries.
Dr Peters, who has headed the unit for 3½ years, is expected to leave her job at the end of next month. She was not available for comment yesterday.
Ms Marshall said no one within the unit was suitably qualified to step into Dr Peters's position, and her resignation was a huge loss for the unit and for the programmes. "It can be seen as a loss for the women of New Zealand. Dr Peters is highly skilled, dedicated, and held in extremely high regard.
"Her departure represents a significant loss of both institutional and clinical knowledge."
Health Ministry deputy director general Don Matheson said Dr Peters had resigned for both professional and personal reasons, and the ministry was aware she was overloaded.
It had been trying to recruit two people to share her workload – one to head each screening programme.
Dr Matheson said Dr Peters's resignation would "have some impact, but it will not prevent us from carrying out the recommendations (of the Gisborne inquiry)".
The ministry would look both internationally and within New Zealand for a replacement, he said. Dr Peters would continue to help out part-time.
Green Party health spokeswoman Sue Kedgely said Dr Peters's resignation was the second warning in less than a month that the cancer screening programme was in trouble.
Clearly the lack of funding and support had taken its toll
on Dr Peters, Ms Kedgley said. "Her resignation is a loss of experience and
knowledge . . . and will do nothing to restore women's confidence in the
screening programme."
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(Editor's Note: I have talked to so many qualified physicians over the past 5 years who have left practice because they just couldn't stand to see ONE MORE SICK PERSON. This health crisis is universal someday we all will point to the chemical cause and STOP IT!)
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