DOCTORS are encouraging their patients to keep up with routine screens and preventive health care, in the face of patient hesitancy due to COVID-19.
Regular checks such as skin care checks, breast screens, bowel screen kits, and immunisations need to be maintained as part of people's general health care regimes, spokeswoman for the Hunter GP Association, Dr Fiona Van Leeuwen said, after hearing from patients they have been delaying care, saying they would 'wait' until after COVID.
"I've had a lot of people say to me in the last couple of months that they didn't do the bowel screen kit, or didn't go in for their mammogram, and there is no need to wait for that ... it's much better to do those normal things ... and that way we don't miss stuff," Dr Van Leeuwen said.
Without those check in place, people may present later with symptoms at which point you "can't always offer the curative and best care options, she said. "If you are the unlucky one who has an abnormality, and you are months behind the usual disease progression, that's a big deal.
"We need to see those little kids, we need to check them at two weeks, and six weeks, and the baby check at four months, all those things are what keep our population fabulously well and triaged to the right spots if something is going outside of normal. Don't miss your outpatient appointments at the hospital - don't say no because of COVID - the waiting lists are terrible anyway.
"It's not only COVID. COVID is a part of the picture ... we are looking at things through a COVID lens, but it's not only COVID."
Cancer patient advocates, oncologists and healthcare providers have warned of the risks of delayed care. Newcastle Radiation Oncologist, Associate Professor Peter O'Brien, said research has shown that COVID-19 delays have already had a negative impact on patient outcomes.
Key statistics include that nationally, there were 145,000 fewer mammograms in the six months to June 2020 versus 2018, and during the 2020 lockdown in Victoria, there was a 37 per cent drop in screening and a 33 per cent drop in breast cancer surgeries.
"Sadly, we are already seeing the negative impact of breast screen closures last year in Victoria, with more women presenting with later stage breast cancer disease," Professor O'Brien said. "There are substantial differences in the five-year survival rates for women who present with early stage breast cancer compared with stage 3 and stage 4 cancer," he said.
Dr Van Leeuwen asked people to be flexible about the timing of their care and assess the urgency of their needs. "It really helps the system if people can book online."
