People must send clear message at poll

THE DA is acutely aware that it took only a few days to fix the broken X-ray machine at Port Shepstone mortuary after our unannounced visit to the facility.

While we welcome this swift intervention it stands in stark contrast to other turnaround times. I refer in particular to what the DA regards as the absolute neglect of cancer patients at some of KZN’s provincial hospitals.

The DA is aware of many newly diagnosed patients who are having to wait for as long as 18 months for CT scans before what is often life-saving treatment can be started.

This is as a result of the number of broken machines and the shortage of machines in the province.

At Durban’s Addington Hospital, the machines have been broken since 2014, resulting in a massive backlog.

Yesterday I received another heart-rending complaint from a woman who has breast cancer and whose treatment will be further delayed because of a shortage of radiotherapy devices. Every day that she has to wait increases her risk of relapse.

Malignant cancers don’t wait for the health department to get around to these staging CT or MRI scans.

While there may be complexities in ensuring the devices are fixed or new ones procured, government’s ex- cuses and procrastination are resulting in devastation and wanton death as curable cancers become incurable.

The DA has written to the South African Human Rights Commission and asked that it investigates this travesty.

Come poll time, the people of KZN must send a clear message if government does not care, it will be removed.