Cancer patients in Gauteng hospitals are suffering as urgent diagnoses are delayed due to non-payment of the supplier of isotopes for PET scans.
Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scans are used to find hidden tumours or assess whether cancer has spread or is responding to treatment.
I have been trying to assist one patient at the Steve Biko Hospital who was supposed to have an urgent PET scan in early November but was told it could not be done because the isotope was not available.
This non-payment for a crucial medical need highlights yet again the appalling financial mismanagement that has led National Treasury to consider placing the Gauteng Health Department under administration.
Meanwhile, the Department has stalled the disclosure of the backlog list of cancer patients by opposing the court case by Section27, Cancer Alliance and Treatment Action Campaign. The judgement in March this year against the Department was suspended by a court ruling last week, and it will only be decided by the Supreme Court of Appeal next year.
The Department should be cooperating with NGOs to ensure speedy radiation treatment of cancer patients as delays risk the lives of hundreds of patients.
A DA-led administration would work cooperatively with all parties, including contracts with private hospitals, to ensure that treatment for all cancer patients is expedited.