Latest news with #JaneCowley
The Herald
20-05-2025
- Health
- The Herald
SAHRC to investigate shortages of chemo medication at Nelson Mandela Bay hospitals
The DA has called on the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) to investigate how medical professionals at the Livingstone and PE Provincial hospitals in Nelson Mandela Bay have been forced to ration medication and prioritise patients due to a shortage of chemotherapy drugs. It has also urged the commission to recommend that the province's department of health be placed under administration. SAHRC Eastern Cape manager Eileen Carter said an investigation into the allegations had been opened. 'It will now be undertaken as per our complaints handling processes,' she said. Eastern Cape MPL Jane Cowley, who filed the complaint with the commission on Friday, said chemotherapy drugs had allegedly been out of stock for prolonged periods and treatment delays had become commonplace. 'Medical professionals have reportedly been forced into the untenable position of prioritising which patients receive the limited treatment available. 'Other patients are sent home without care, despite the urgency of their conditions,' Cowley said. She said oncology services at the hospitals had collapsed. 'These accounts indicate a systemic collapse in the department's medicine procurement and distribution systems. 'A failure that constitutes administrative negligence with catastrophic consequences,' she wrote. Cowley has requested that the commission also adjudicate whether the department had, by failing to provide health care, breached the patient's constitutional rights to life and dignity. She has requested that an order be issued compelling the department to immediately restore the supply of oncology medications to all affected facilities and that protective measures be put in place for whistle-blowers who exposed or reported the failures. 'A public apology from the department to affected patients and families, and a clear, time-bound recovery plan to ensure sustainable access to cancer treatment.' Cowley said healthcare workers were forced to make impossible choices daily. 'How does one explain to the mother of a 14-year-old boy that his treatment cannot continue because the department's nonpayment has led the supplier to close their account. 'How does a doctor respond to a heartfelt letter from a 33-year-old woman, diagnosed with a curable form of Hodgkin's Lymphoma, who is begging for treatment so she can raise her three-year-old child. 'Across the province, emotionally and physically exhausted doctors and nurses do their best in facilities that often lack even the most basic medicines and surgical equipment,' she said. Provincial health spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo said the department had set aside R200m for specialist medicines, including for cancer. Kupelo said outstanding payments totalling R43m to service providers would be made by the end of the week. 'We have strengthened our distribution plan, and our main medicine depots are strategically positioned to supply the entire province. 'These are the PE medical depot in Gqeberha and Mthatha medical depot in the OR Tambo district. 'Cancer patients are receiving their treatment. In some instances, alternative regimes were administered. 'This week, the department is expecting additional stock from Adcock Health, Fresenius, Kiara and Macleods. 'At least two senior officials at the level of the chief directors were assigned to Gqeberha to accelerate service delivery issues at both Livingstone and Dora Nginza hospitals,' Kupelo said. Kupelo said 10 doctors and 20 nurses had been appointed for Dora Nginza hospital. 'Recruitment processes to employ permanent CEOs at both Frere and Livingstone hospitals are now under way, a move that is aimed at strengthening administration in these two big hospitals in the province.' The Herald
IOL News
13-05-2025
- Health
- IOL News
No doctors left: Staff shortage forces Livingstone Hospital to close outpatient clinics
Livingstone Hospital halts outpatient surgeries due to staff shortages. The DA demands answers as patients suffer and the provincial government remains silent amid growing outrage. Image: File Outpatient surgical services at Livingstone Hospital have shut down following a staffing collapse, with the Surgery Department confirming it no longer has doctors available to run the clinics. In a letter to patients, the department announced that, as of Monday, May 12, 2025, 'no doctors will be available for the numerous outpatient clinics the Surgery Department is responsible for.' The closure follows a year of steady attrition within the surgical team, with no replacements made for departing doctors. 'The Eastern Cape Department of Health has stopped appointing any new doctors,' the department said. It further warned that the remaining medical personnel are now being redirected to emergency services and essential surgeries only. 'This decision has not been taken lightly,' the department said. 'Unfortunately, all our other attempts to get recognition and a response from our leadership have been blatantly ignored.' Democratic Alliance (DA) Shadow MEC for Health, Jane Cowley, confirmed the closure in a public statement on Tuesday. She said the collapse comes just weeks after the ANC-led provincial government rejected a DA motion proposing immediate, practical steps to reduce the province's elective orthopaedic surgery backlog. 'No doctors remain to staff these critical services. Only enough personnel remain to attend to emergency surgeries. This is not just a crisis ,it is a collapse,' Cowley said. Livingstone Hospital has long been under pressure, particularly in orthopaedic care. Cowley highlighted that more than 1,300 patients are currently waiting for elective orthopaedic surgeries, yet the hospital has capacity for only 48 such procedures a year. 'Elective surgeries are set to fall even further — perhaps to zero,' she said. The DA has criticised the provincial health department's refusal to fill vacancies, cutbacks in commuted overtime, and its alleged defiance of national directives. 'Instead of addressing the backlog, the department has slashed commuted overtime, defied national directives from the Director-General of Health, and ignored repeated appeals from medical professionals. ''The result? Outpatient clinics are closed, and surgical backlogs are worsening,' Cowley said. She also called on the National Director-General of Health to intervene urgently and ensure vacant doctor posts are filled. 'Doctors are overburdened, burnt out, and unsupported, and patients are left in pain — without hope or dignity,' she said. Cowley added that Eastern Cape MEC for Health, Ntandokazi Capa, and her Head of Department, Dr. Rolene Wagner, must be held accountable for what she described as "reckless and defiant decisions." She insisted that both officials must appear before the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) and answer for the collapse. According to AlgoaFM News, Sizwe Kupelo, spokesperson for the Eastern Cape Department of Health, responded by stating that the letter announcing the shutdown was "fake news." He added that the department would investigate the origin of the letter. [email protected] Get your news on the go, click here to join the IOL News WhatsApp channel. IOL
