Cape Town - Deon Daniels, 53, says he received “a death sentence” from the Western Cape Department of Health when it told him last August that he was ineligible for life-saving renal dialysis treatment.
Daniels had visited a doctor because of acute pains in his lower back. After many tests he was diagnosed with renal failure.
Ideally, patients with renal failure would receive transplants. Yet the shortage of donors means that the only lease of life for many patients is dialysis.
“After dialysis I feel rejuvenated. Without it I feel weak, forgetful and tired. It may take a different amount of time for different people, but kidney failure will eventually kill you,” Daniels said.
Like 80 percent of the province’s residents, Daniels does not have private medical aid. Every year 1 000 people who rely on government-sponsored health care require dialysis to stay healthy.
The provincial Department of Health said it had the budget and capacity to accommodate only 125 of these patients.
Spokesperson Faiza Steyn said the department would ideally want to assist all patients who required dialysis, but was faced with the reality of “limited resources”. The treatment costs about R100 000 a patient a year.
The department decides on eligible candidates according to criteria that Steyn describes as “fair and transparent”.
* Category one patients qualify automatically for dialysis. Socially, they must have access to support structures, have good living conditions (water, sanitation, electricity) and the financial capacity to arrange for transport to and from a renal unit. They may not be over the age of 50, may not be heavily overweight (with a body mass index of more than 30), and may not be HIV-positive.
* Category two patients may receive treatment if the province’s health budget allows it. Chances for inclusion, however, decrease if the patient is older than 50, has a body mass index of more than 30, or has other medical conditions defined by the department.
* Category three patients are not considered for dialysis because of the presence of other, defined medical conditions.
When Daniels was screened he fell into category three because he was a diabetic and older than 50. He was denied access to the facilities at Tygerberg Hospital Renal Unit. This left him with little choice but to pay for the treatment at a private unit in Brackenfell. He said he had had dialysis two or three times a week since being diagnosed, at about R1 200 a session.
“Financially I have been ruined. I have lost my house in Bellville and now I live with friends. Most of my assets have been sold. I am now at a stage where I have to sell my remaining possessions, one by one, to raise the money for the next treatment,” said Daniels, adding that he had sold a fridge to a coffee shop employee minutes before meeting with the Cape Argus.
“I understand that the department can’t help everyone, but being turned away at the door of a hospital when the facilities exist to help you is a terrible experience. In my opinion it goes against everything that the ethos of the medical profession is about,” said Daniels.
Steyn said the department was exploring ways in which more patients could receive state-sponsored dialysis. - Cape Argus