Johannesburg – The DA has welcomed the specific allocation of R784 million in last week’s Gauteng provincial budget to address the backlog of cancer surgery and radiation oncology.
This was badly needed as about 3 000 cancer patients are waiting for treatment, including more than 1 000 men with prostate cancer and about 500 women with breast cancer, who all urgently need radiation therapy.
Jack Bloom, MPL, and the DA’s Gauteng health spokesperson, said commended the Gauteng health department for working with Section27 and the Cancer Alliance to involve the private health sector in cutting the backlogs.
“This includes the urgent outsourcing of radiation treatment for those on the waiting list and the expedited procurement of new machines in the public sector to treat future patients,” Bloom said.
“Another high priority is the filling of staff vacancies. The cancer backlogs have spiralled alarmingly due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and the fire at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Hospital.
“You can imagine the anxiety of cancer sufferers who are told their treatment is delayed because of staff and equipment shortages. It puts their lives at risk as well,” Bloom said.
“This type of private or public partnership should also be used to sharply reduce the 36 000 patients waiting for surgery in Gauteng public hospitals, particularly in orthopaedics, where there is a five-year waiting time for hip and knee operations.”
Bloom said he would be monitoring the cancer spending closely to ensure it is spent effectively, “without corruption and inefficiency that are endemic in this department”.
Cancer is a disease where abnormal cells divide uncontrollably and destroy body tissue. It can start almost anywhere in the human body, which is made up of trillions of cells.
The Star