Dear Editor
The Democratic Alliance has lodged a complaint against the National Health Laboratory Services (NHLS) with the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) because their unacceptable delays in cancer testing are now amounting to serious human rights violations.
The DA cares deeply about this, and we cannot allow cancer patients reliant on the state to see their cancers spread, and their bodies gripped by disease, as lab tests are delayed for months.
The national laboratory is crucial to the public health system as it provides most of the diagnostic tests required to diagnose and treat public health patients. Yet, public health patients in Gauteng are forced to wait as long as three months for the results of their cancer tests, while the private sector has a turn-around time of about 48 hours.
The NHLS’ failure to conduct these tests delays patients’ diagnosis and treatment, which could potentially lead to their death. This is becoming a growing human rights emergency.
Patients are being punished for years of NHLS mismanagement, which the Auditor-General has called out:
- The NHLS has failed to investigate irregular expenditure and financial misconduct and failed to take disciplinary action against responsible officials.
- It routinely procured goods and services without following prescribed procurement processes.
The gross mismanagement and seeming refusal to conduct consequence management will continue to violate patients’ rights to human dignity, life, and health care services.
The public health sector often treats the most vulnerable members of our society. They deserve respect and quality care and not to have their lives endangered due to mismanagement.
The DA expects that the SAHRC will investigate and take bold action against the National Health Laboratory Service, so that they bring an end to the human rights violations of cancer patients in Gauteng.
Regards
Michele Clarke MP
DA Spokesperson on Health