Cancer patients ‘forced to get new diagnoses’
The Gauteng health department is working with the Steve Biko Academic Hospital to minimise the disruption of services to all patients from Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital following complaints cancer patients were having to restart their treatment protocols – beginning with a diagnosis.
This comes after Democratic Alliance Gauteng shadow health MEC Jack Bloom released a statement about how patients from the fire-damaged Charlotte Maxeke caused problems for patients, especially those that suffered from cancer who were not receiving treatment.
“Cancer patients who managed to get through to the provided hotline were told to go to Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital for chemotherapy or Steve Biko Hospital for radiotherapy, but they had to go as new patients, which delayed their treatment,” he said.
“In one case, a patient was told she had to go through a series of tests to be diagnosed for cancer even though it was already confirmed at Charlotte Maxeke.”
Bloom said the cancer patients were abandoned and their lives were at avoidable risk.
Gauteng health MEC spokeswoman Kwara Kekana said measures for non-emergency outpatients included visiting the radiation oncology clinic.
“Non-emergency patients for follow-up appointments should present at the radiation oncology department on the day of the week that their radiation oncology clinic sees follow-ups once the department is open,” she said.
“Patients who have repeat prescriptions from the department of radiation oncology should take these prescriptions to another facility to collect the repeat prescriptions there.”
Kekana said patients were being monitored at Steve Biko. “The hospital took over further management of radiotherapy.”