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The Democratic Alliance welcomes the specific allocation of R784 million in last week’s Gauteng provincial budget to address the backlog of cancer surgery and radiation oncology.

This is badly needed as about 3000 cancer patients are waiting for treatment, including more than 1000 men with prostate cancer and about 500 women with breast cancer who urgently need radiation therapy.

I commend the Gauteng Health Department for working with Section27 and the Cancer Alliance to involve the private health sector in cutting the backlogs.

This includes the urgent outsourcing of radiation treatment for those on the existing waiting list, and the expedited procurement of new machines in the public sector to treat future patients.

Another high priority is the filling of staff vacancies.

The cancer backlogs spiralled alarmingly due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the fire at the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Hospital.

You can imagine the anxiety of cancer sufferers who are told their treatment is delayed because of staff and equipment shortages. It puts their lives at risk as well.

This type of private/public partnership should also be used to sharply reduce the 36000 patients waiting for surgery in Gauteng public hospitals, particularly in orthopaedics where there is a five-year waiting time for hip and knee operations.

I will be monitoring the cancer spending closely to ensure that it is spent effectively without the corruption and inefficiency that is endemic in this department.

Issued by Jack Bloom MPL - DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Health