Cancer report to be ‘unpacked’
Patients rights were violated
A“DAMNING oncology report” by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) took “a considerable amount of time” to investigate as the complaint was made in February 2016.
This was the sentiment of the DA, who plan on unpacking the report following its release last week to the parties involved at a press conference later today.
According to an SAHRC statement last week, the complainant alleged in February 2016 that there were insufficient radiotherapy treatment devices and facilities in KWAZULU-NATAL, which had a negative impact on the treatment of patients living with cancer in the province. The radiotherapy machines at Addington Hospital were not working.
This resulted in delays in the treatment of oncology patients, which the complainant attributed to the shortage of functional health technologies. The complainant further alleged that the Department of Health was failing to provide oncology patients with adequate health care services.
Their extensive investigation found that the respondents – Addington Hospital, Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital (IALC Hospital), the Department of Health and the Health MEC – “have violated the rights of oncology patients at the Addington and IALC Hospitals to have access to health care services as a result of their failure to comply with applicable norms and standards set out in legislation and policies”.
The SAHRC said: “(These) respondents are required to immediately take steps to repair and monitor all the health technology machines regardless of contractual disputes yet to be finalised through the courts; that a management plan be adopted to deal with the backlog through, among others, entering into interim public private- partnership arrangements with private oncologists, medical officers, radiotherapists and oncology nurses; and that an interim referral management plan be developed to facilitate the referral of patients to private service providers for screening, diagnosis and treatment of cancer.”
Investigation
The respondents are required to report to the commission within 10 days of receipt of the report.
The DA yesterday said the report confirmed their complaints, all along, to the department.
The complainant, Dr Imran Keeka, the DA provincial health spokesperson, said the SAHRC’s investigation covered the broad staff shortages in the oncology departments of the two hospitals and made damning findings into how the department had violated the human rights of the oncology patients desperate for healthcare services.
Keeka said the report also confirmed the backlogs in the treatment of patients and the broken and insufficient cancer machines.
The DA was determined to unpack the report for the people of the province after the SAHRC made the document public on its website.
“The report confirmed what the DA has been saying all along, that the equipment vital for screening and treating is either broken or non-existent, that there is a shortage of staff and a massive backlog which resulted in curable cancers becoming incurable,” said Keeka.
He said they were grateful to the SAHRC for being “one of the few Chapter 9 institutions that are seemingly not under capture”.
“Our country is currently treading a fine line in its first attempt at democracy and we are in a race against time to ensure it succeeds,” said Keeka.
In its reply, the department said the problems were caused by human resources constraints and it did not have enough oncologists in the province.
But the commission felt the department had not put in place “coherent plans that took into account the rights and experience of patients to maintain or improve the provision of specialised health services to the patients in critical need”.
The commission also called the Premier Willies Mchunu to investigate whether the MEC had discharged his constitutional and statutory responsibilities for the provision of health care to cancer patients.