Oncology services under threat

THE KZN Department of Health is considering pulling out of its oncology contracts in northern KZN because local hospitals are not fulfilling the required number of cancer treatments per month.

In light of the oncology crisis in KZN in 2017, the department contracted external companies to address a serious backlog at many government facilities.

For the northern KZN oncology services project, a partnership was established between the KZN Department of Health and Joint Medical Holdings.

Designated hospitals for the provision of oncology services were Ngwelezana and Queen Nandi Regional hospitals. The treatment is also offered at the Richards Bay Medical Institute (RBMI).

The purpose of the arrangement was so that Zululand patients would not have to travel to Durban for care and to address the waiting period of over a year at both state centres.

Ngwelezana Hospital offers treatments for all types of cancer, while Queen Nandi deals with gynaecological cancers, with cervical cancer being the most commonly treated at the facility.

Since 2017, 11 511 new patients were consulted while radiotherapy was provided for 906 patients.

However, the oncology contract with RBMI is at risk of being cancelled as both hospitals do not treat the required number of 75-90 patients in a month.

Losing the contract would mean that terminally ill patients from northern KZN would again have to travel to Albert Luthuli Hospital for treatment, which often means that relatives are not able to visit or learn how to care for patients at home.

The waiting period at both local hospitals is also likely to increase.

RBMI CEO, Muzi Dlamini, told the ZO they were currently treating around 55-60 patients a month, which is not enough.

‘At the start of this contract, we had a backlog of over a year and now we have brought it down to two weeks at Queen Nandi and Ngwelezana, which we were recently congratulated for by the health MEC because even people who are on medical aid did not experience long waiting periods.’

Dlamini said the referral patterns and lack of awareness in northern KZN were causes for concern.

‘The numbers could improve if the referral pattern could be fine-tuned.

‘According to the process patients have to visit a district hospital, where they will then be referred to regional hospitals such as Ngwelezana and Queen Nandi.

‘But we still find that patients are being referred to Albert Luthuli Hospital in Durban instead while none of the two Zululand hospitals has reached capacity.’

Dlamini added that most cancer patients usually seek medical intervention at both local hospitals when it is too late.

‘A large population of northern KZN still believe that if they are not feeling well, they need to go to a sangoma or inyanga. Sometimes they also visit general practitioners, most of whom do not pick up the problem early enough.

‘People also still think cancer only affects the breast, while prostate cancer is rapidly wiping out our men because they refuse to go for checkups.

‘If people notice anything unusual in any part of their body for more than two weeks, they should have it checked out. Most of our patients come to us at stage four, and at this point we cannot cure cancer, but rather assist in prolonging and improving their quality of life.’

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