“I am sleeping like a baby,” said lung cancer patient Veronica Holman, relief resonating in her voice.
After nearly six weeks without undergoing treatment, Holman, 64, was to receive chemotherapy at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital on Monday.
The session is three weeks late. An apparent chemotherapy drug shortage at the hospital had put Holman’s treatment on hold, allowing her tumour to develop and her prognosis to worsen.
After The Star published Holman’s story a week ago, Campaigning for Cancer sent Gauteng Health MEC Ntombi Mekgwe a letter demanding her treatment be sorted out by Friday at 5pm. Representatives from Charlotte Maxeke contacted Holman on Friday, inviting her for an appointment on Monday.
Lauren Pretorius, Campaigning for Cancer CEO, said the group was prepared to take legal action, with pro bono lawyers on standby.
The Gauteng Department of Health did not respond to requests for comment.
“This is one of very many cases,” said DA spokesman health Jack Bloom.
In a written statement to Bloom on May 9, Mekgwe said there were waiting lists for cancer treatment at all three Gauteng hospitals comprising integrated cancer management: Steve Biko Academic Hospital, Chris Hani-Baragwanath Academic and Charlotte Maxeke.
It appears the worst waiting times are at Charlotte Maxeke, where 3 500 patients are placed on waiting lists annually. Delays for head, neck and prostate cancer treatments have reached four to five months at the hospital. At Steve Biko, patients can wait up to three months for radiation oncology.
According to Mekgwe’s statement, many factors contribute to delays, including machinery breakdowns, overcrowding, medicine shortages and a lack of skilled staff.
Campaigning for Cancer is currently dealing with legal cases concerning the broken machinery. However, Pretorius cautioned that there were many other patients facing delays with no assistance.
Campaigning for Cancer has asked for all contracts the Gauteng Department of Health holds with third-party contractors to verify if the third parties are at fault, as third parties are often cited as the cause of delays.
“The state of affairs that patients experience when they are simply told ‘no treatment today, sorry’ is unacceptable,” Pretorius said. “Campaigning for Cancer has called for a full-scale investigation into the reasons for the lack of appropriate treatment for these patients from both the national Department of Health and the Gauteng Department of Health.
“These departments have until May 21 to provide Campaigning for Cancer with answers and solutions to the questions we have posed, or face legal action.”
The Star