Minister to meet families after claims of politicising child cancer scandal

Health Minister Simeon Brown will today meet with families whose children are receiving cancer treatment, a week after he and other politicians were accused of politicising child chemotherapy delays. 

The Child Cancer Foundation has issued a broadside to health authorities after the scandal, warning that “life changes in an instant” for families whose child has been diagnosed with cancer. 

“Clinical decisions rightly sit with each child’s specialists, and treatment plans can change for sound reasons,” foundation chief executive Monica Briggs said. 

“But when it is your child, no delay feels minor.” 

The Herald revealed last week that cancer treatment for patients at Starship children’s hospital’s oncology ward had been delayed by up to a week because of severe nursing shortages and high demand. 

Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora confirmed 20 cycles of chemotherapy were delayed over the past four months by up to seven days and two bone marrow transplants were delayed by “a short amount of time”. 

Asked yesterday whether it could rule out any further postponements, a spokesperson said all vacancies in the ward were either filled or being recruited for. Health NZ did not anticipate “any significant” further delays because of staffing. 

Health Minister Simeon Brown denies any child cancer treatments have been 'suspended'. 

Brown hit out at the Herald’s coverage last week, denying claims by a Starship nurse that treatment had been “suspended” and saying only a “handful” of chemotherapy treatments had faced “minor” delays. He also denied claims of a hiring freeze at Health NZ. 

That sparked an angry response from Timaru dad Shaun Todd, whose daughter had surgery at Starship last year for brain cancer. 

Todd accused Brown and other politicians of playing politics before the election and said downplaying treatment delays for sick kids was a cruel blow to families for whom days, or even hours, could mean the difference for their survival. 

“Just do better,” Todd said. “Fix it. Stop using cancer kids as a political football.” 

Families ‘living their worst nightmare’ 

Meanwhile, Napier mum Nicole Blue has spoken of her family’s child cancer experience, with a Facebook post racking up 100,000 views. 

“As a parent currently going through childhood cancer treatment for the second time, I find some of these headlines pretty scary. Have we had our frustrations along the way? Absolutely! But when you’re dealing with something as complicated as cancer, things aren’t always going to run perfectly.” 

Blue said Starship nurses were “absolutely incredible” and she did not doubt they were under pressure. 

“I’ve also seen first-hand how valuable staff time and resources can be taken up dealing with situations and behaviour that really shouldn’t be happening in a hospital. There are definitely wider issues at play.” 

Starship children's hospital in Auckland. 

Blue said she was all for highlighting genuine problems and fighting for better support for healthcare workers. 

“But with it being an election year, I really hope this doesn’t turn into political scaremongering. 

“Please remember there are families sitting in hospital rooms right now, already living their worst nightmare.” 

Following the post, Brown agreed to meet today with Blue and another family. 

Todd told the Herald he had not been contacted by the minister’s office since speaking out last week. 

Brown defends Government’s record, lashes out at Labour 

In a statement, Brown said patients and families often asked to meet with him to share their experiences, “as they did in this instance”. 

“My door is always open, and I would welcome the opportunity to meet with Mr Todd should he wish to. As ever, I would rather talk with families privately than through the media.” 

Brown said National was committed to ensuring every child with cancer received timely care and treatment and was acting to ensure that happened. 

He said staffing on Starship’s cancer ward was significantly better than under the last Government, with understaffing falling from nearly 75% of shifts in 2023 to 31% last year. 

While August this year was challenging because of winter pressures and vacancies, the situation had improved, and all remaining vacancies would be filled by January. 

Brown acknowledged the Child Cancer Foundation’s important work and said: “It is appalling that Labour have chosen to politicise this issue given their record of understaffing on this ward”. 

Labour health spokesperson Dr Ayesha Verrall said her heart went out to the children and their whānau who had their cancer treatment delayed. 

“These shortages are a result of the Government’s decision to freeze recruitment,” she said. 

“In the last two years, only 54 fulltime equivalent nurses have been hired, in some regions, the number of fulltime equivalents has actually fallen. The facts prove that. 

“National made the choice to stop recruitment, while under Labour we worked hard to fix the problem. It is typical of the National Government to try to blame others rather than focus on fixing the problem in front of them.” 

‘Not simply a frightening delay’ 

Briggs said the Child Cancer Foundation had contacted families after news of the delays emerged last week to offer support and understand their concerns. 

“When a child is diagnosed with cancer, life changes in an instant. Families must navigate unfamiliar appointments, admissions, test results and medical language, while reorganising everyday life around treatment. They need to trust that their child will receive the specialist care they need, when they need it.” 

While the number of postponed treatments represented a small proportion of those performed at Starship, “for the family affected, that distinction means little”. 

“Behind every treatment schedule is a whānau who has organised their life around it. Parents may have taken leave from work, siblings arranged to stay with relatives, and families travelled considerable distances. 

“A change to treatment is not simply a frightening delay; it can become a logistical, financial and emotional upheaval, compounding the uncertainty families already face.” 

Child Cancer Foundation chief executive Monica Briggs says changes to treatment plans can have a significant impact on families. 

Briggs said New Zealand had built a child cancer service to be proud of. About 85% of the 150 to 180 kids diagnosed annually now survived for at least five years. 

This reflected advances in treatment, co-ordinated care, clinical research and the commitment of health professionals. 

But world-class outcomes depended on a specialist workforce. 

“Families regularly tell us about the skill and compassion of the people caring for their children. But dedication cannot indefinitely compensate for gaps in staffing, experience or organisational support. Goodwill alone is not a sustainable workforce strategy.” 

Briggs called for transparency about the pressures that had emerged and hoped the current spotlight led to meaningful action beyond the “political cycle”. 

Starship director (medical and community) Dr Greg Williams said all vacant nursing roles in the paediatric haematology/oncology service were being recruited for. 

He did not anticipate any significant delays because of staffing, “beyond the usual rescheduling that takes place at times”. 

“Delays affecting the sequence of care delivery can occur at any time or place for a range of clinical reasons and variables.” 

Williams said additional senior staff had been brought into the unit from across Starship and Auckland City Hospital to offer support. 

Patient safety remained the primary focus, clinicians were involved in key decisions and no child had missed out on cancer care. 

Lane Nichols is Auckland Desk Editor and a senior journalist for the New Zealand Herald with more than 20 years’ experience in the industry.