No shortage of anti-cancer drug in Gauteng hospitals‚ says health department

The Gauteng Department of Health has denied that there is a shortage of the anti-cancer drug Cisplatin in the province’s hospitals.

It said however that there were indeed challenges with supply of the drug‚ which the National Department of Health was attending to.

The Gauteng Health MEC Ms Qedani Mahlangu wishes to assure the public that drug stocks are at satisfactory level in all our facilities and there is no need to panic‚” the department said in a statement.

The Democratic Alliance’s health spokesman for Gauteng‚ Jack Bloom‚ said earlier that the province’s hospitals had run out of the drug‚ which is used to increase the effectiveness of radiation treatment for cervical cancer.

• 'Challenges' with cancer drug at state hospitalsThere are challenges with the supply of the cancer drug Cisplatin‚ "which the National Department of Health is attending to"‚ the Gauteng Health department said on Monday. 

He said cancer departments had experienced problems in getting the Cisplatin since the beginning of this year.

He said the fault lay with the national health department which issued the tender for this drug from a local company that couldn't supply it.