KZN has flouted cancer patients' rights, says report

 A damning report by the SA Human Rights Commission says the KwaZulu-Natal department of health has failed its cancer patients.

The commission's 68-page report says "the delays in the provision of, and in some cases the denial of, oncology services to cancer patients, some of whom are destitute and in need of health care, affects them in a most fundamental way".

"It poses a serious threat to the patients' lives and their enjoyment of other rights. It cannot be denied that the rights to life and human dignity, which are intertwined in our constitution, are intertwined in this matter."

The investigation by the commission followed a complaint by the DA's Imran Keeka, a member of the provincial legislature, in February last year. He complained that a dire shortage of oncology specialists and other medical staff, coupled with insufficient and non-functioning oncology machines, and delays in treating patients, was adversely affecting people with cancer in the province.

The commission found that "the shortage of staff and non-functioning equipment adversely impact on the rendering of oncology services".

The commission has recommended that KwaZulu-Natal premier Willies Mchunu investigate the role of embattled health MEC Sibongiseni Dhlomo - who is already facing calls for his removal - in the oncology crisis.

Interviews with patients and staff at affected hospitals revealed there had been an increase in the incidence of cancer in the province and that on average patients wait for about five months before they were seen by an oncologist at a state medical facility and about eight months for radiotherapy.

The department "failed to allocate necessary and appropriate human and technological resources for oncology services".

The department of health was ordered to repair oncology equipment immediately and within 10 days devise a plan to deal with the backlog of patients.