Impact of COVID-19 on cancer services to end of February
April 14, 2022
With Omicron now spreading widely in the community, Te Aho o Te Kahu, the Cancer Control Agency, continues to monitor the impact of COVID-19 on cancer diagnostic and treatment services.
The most recent report includes DHB data up until the end of February 2022. The report looks at the number of cancer diagnoses and treatments to end of February 2022, compared to the same time period in the previous year/s to understand if the 2021/22 COVID-19 outbreak has impacted cancer diagnosis and treatment, and created or exacerbated inequities.
Report summary:
- This is the first report to include data from the Omicron outbreak and covers up to February 2022
- There has been some disruption to cancer services during the January and February period nationally
- In January there was a lower number of registrations nationally and in February there was a higher number of registrations nationally - overall there were 2 percent fewer cancer registrations in the first two months of 2021 compared with 2022
- For Māori there were 16 percent fewer registrations in January and 17 percent fewer registrations in February 2022 compared with February 2021
- The impact is not as substantial as that seen during the initial lockdown and outbreak in 2020, particularly during the month of April 2020, however these data are of concern
- There was a 9 percent lower rate of cancer surgery for prostate, lung and colorectal cancer in the first two months of 2022, compared with 2021 nationally
- For Māori there was a 22 percent decrease in combined cancer surgeries for January and February 2022 combined compared with 2021, and for Pacific peoples this decrease was 35 percent
- Attendances for intravenous (IV) chemotherapy decreased by 3 percent in January/ February 2022 compared to the same period in 2021
- Te Aho o Te Kahu is returning to monthly monitoring
- Te Aho o Te Kahu is working with the sector to ensure a rapid recovery, and to ensure that Māori and Pacific peoples are prioritised in the recovery.