On 23 August 2017 the Commission briefed the Portfolio Committee on Health in Parliament on the SAHRC Report On The Oncology Crisis in KwaZulu-Natal and provided additional information to the Committee related to the matter.

Subsequent to this briefing to Parliament, media reports have emerged, including a letter published online (www.businesslive.co.za) on 31 August 2017, calling for the suspension of the MEC for Health in KwaZulu-Natal , Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo, on the basis of allegations purportedly made to Parliament by the Commission that Dr Dhlomo had blocked the SAHRC’s oversight visits to oncology units. 

The Commission is compelled to clarify the facts on the matter.

In its submission to the Portfolio Committee, the SAHRC reported that its monitoring of oncology sites had been constrained due to it being denied access to Addington and Inkosi Albert Luthuli Hospital. In its submission, the SAHRC reported that access had been denied by security guards at the gates on the basis that the guards were not allowed to give access to unauthorised persons.

The Commission has powers under the South African Human Rights Commission Act of 2013, to take enforcement action, however the Commission has opted not to exercise this power as there has been no indication that the actions of the security guards emanated from an instruction from the top echelon of the KZN Department of Health or even from the leadership of the two hospitals.

The visits in questions were unannounced monitoring visits, which neither the MEC nor the hospital authorities would have been aware of beforehand.

The Commission continues to work with the Provincial Department of Health on finding a solution to this matter. In July 2017, Dr Dhlomo in a written response to the Commission, indicated that based on an assessment by the manufacturers and suppliers, one of the two VRALA machines at Addington Hospital could be repaired within a relatively short time, while the other would take a longer time to repair. The SAHRC has since written to Dr Dhlomo requesting an update on the repair of the second machine. The Commission is awaiting a response from the MEC on the status of the second machine.

The Commission is actively pursuing the matter of oncology services in KZN, in the knowledge that the resolution of this matter is a matter of life and death for people living with cancer in that province. Furthermore, the Commission is fully aware that much is yet to be done in reaching the resolutions contained in the recommendations in the SAHRC’s Report On The Oncology Crisis in KwaZulu-Natal, including the repair of oncology related machines and the recruitment of relevant staff members.

However, the Commission would like to clarify misleading media statements implying that Dr Dhlomo has impeded its work, and state that the MEC has co-operated with the Commission and has complied with the all the SAHRC’s requests for additional information.

Ends

Issued by the South African Human Rights Commission

SAHRC Spokesperson: Gail Smith. Contact: 060 988 3792, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

SAHRC Communications Co-ordinator: Gushwell Brooks, Contact: 082 645 8573, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.