Unskilled people caused KZN’s cancer treatment crisis: Motsoaledi

The national health department is taking over KwaZulu-Natal’s health department procurement process‚ given the crisis in treating patients with cancer in the province‚ Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi announced on Friday.

The minister said the procurement of services‚ human resources and a lack of management skills was the root cause of the oncology crisis in KwaZulu-Natal.

A forensic audit into the procurement process of the KwaZulu-Natal department of health‚ which is dealing with a crisis in treating patients with cancer‚ has been commissioned.

Motsoaledi was speaking at a media briefing at Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital in Durban.

The Human Rights Commission is also investigating the crisis taking its toll on people with cancer. The probe follows a complaint laid by the Democratic Alliance earlier this year.

He said the broken oncology machines at Durban’s Addington Hospital was not the cause of the crisis.

“Even if we can today bring two new oncology machines in Addington‚ this crisis will not be solved. There is a gross lack of management skills in the department of health. Human resources and procurement are the biggest problems‚” said Motsoaledi.

He said a team tasked with resolving human resources needs for the provincial health department should be formalised within two weeks.

“The problems in KZN were not created by non-functioning oncology machines at Addington. That was one of the symptoms. There are two bigger problems. One is the issue of human resources‚ planning and development. That’s the root cause for specialists to leave.

He said his department will get oncology equipment at Addington repaired and will consider the possibility of buying new equipment.

Motsoaledi said the province had the third largest number of oncology machines in the country: two non-functioning machines at Addington‚ three functioning machines at Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital and one at Grey’s Hospital in Pietermaritzburg‚

The Eastern Cape has two oncology machines‚ one at Frere Hospital in East London and one in Port Elizabeth.

The Free State has two at Universitas Academic Hospital‚ one of which goes for regular repairs. These two machines also serve the whole of Northern Cape where there are none.

Another province with no oncology machine is Mpumalanga. North West has one. The Western Cape have four at Tygerberg Hospital - one of which has been condemned - and three at Groote Schuur Hospital. Gauteng has four machines at Steve Biko Academic Hospital in Pretoria and four at Charlotte Maxeke Hospital in Johannesburg.

“In terms of oncology equipment even with the non-functionality at Addington‚ KZN is number three in the country. Now that tells you that it can’t be root cause of the crisis‚” said Motsoaledi.