Why is the KZN healthcare system collapsing

When public health institutions cannot assist cancer patients due to lack of essential equipment and lack of doctors, it means we are in trouble. The Kwazulu-Natal Healthcare system is collapsing from the ground up.

Two Oncology specialists were left in KZN, and as of last night, one resigned. It means cancer patients will die or they will have to find another hospital in another province. There is no money, no doctors no equipment and people who need to take regular cancer tests, are at risk. It means people will not be diagnosed early enough to receive treatment.

There are reports that only one doctor is on duty for up to 26 hours on weekends, without a break, and with up to 30 patients waiting at any one time. These patients often have to be left waiting for excessively for long periods of time (many hours), as the same doctor gets called to emergency admissions that take higher priority.

The doctors cannot work under the challenging conditions in public health services and will probably move into the private sector. There is at present, likely to be about 90 percent of physicians working in the private sector, and for many South Africans, access to these doctors is impossible. If one does not have a medical aid, which is expensive, there is no access to specialist treatment. Thus the majority are at the mercy of government hospitals which cannot assist the needy.

Huge sums of money are wasted on futile attempts at repairs that only last two weeks, instead of just replacing this vital equipment. In the outpatient’s departments most life-saving equipment does not exist, the little doctors have to work with is old and broken and practitioners are facing an impossible situation trying to save lives.

During May, staff protested over the collapse of health services in KZN – “A memo, addressed to MEC for Health Sibongiseni Dhlomo, titled “Collapse of Health Services in KZN.” lists 16 problems, such as a shortage of staff, caused by “unfunded, frozen and abolished posts”, a lack of jobs for medical school graduates doing their community service, an overtime policy that SAMA and unions have not agreed to, failures with equipment procurement, shortages of supplies, problems with medical records, and poor management.” Read the story – Medics protest as KZN health care system collapses

And in June reports surfaced of more oncologists leaving the public health care system – Read No oncologist in Durban

Published on South Africa Today – South Africa News