A new report shows almost half of New Zealand's gastroenterologists are expected to retire in the next 10 years, leaving the bowel screening programme with an extreme shortage.

Co-author of the report, Michael Schultz, told Mike Hosking there already have shortages and can't afford for it to get worse.

"We desperately need a recruitment drive, we needed one a few years ago but we definitely need one now."

"It's a speciality of medicine and like so many specialities we are suffering shortages and the bowel cancer screening programme has just highlighted that further."

"We have enough graduates coming out of medical schools, it's just the question of what they do and where they end up. Gastroenterology has never really had major problems recruiting, put training positions are filled and we have enough applicants to choose from, it's really just lack of positions that these people can go to."