–due to the government’s failure to pay debts
—many are dying as a result
Mathatisi Sebusi
SOUTH African hospitals are now turning away Lesotho’s cancer patients because of the government’s failure to settle its long-standing debts. The situation has left cancer patients in peril because of lack of viable oncology centres within the country. Many are dying as a result, a parliamentary committee has been told.
The distressed patients claim they are being ill-treated because they are told by officials at these hospitals they cannot be prioritised due to the government’s payment delinquency.
Accountant General, ‘Malehlohonolo Mahase, told the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) last week that they had paid M114 million of the M218 million owed to the South African hospitals for cancer patient referrals.
She said the outstanding balance would be settled once a requested budget had been approved. But that payment, if at all, has not provided any relief for the cancer stricken patients.
Lying
It is however not clear whether that money has in fact been paid to the South African hospitals as claimed by Ms Mahase. It is now clear that this government has been lying that it has paid service providers including long suffering Lesotho based service providers. Many service providers continue to struggle to get their payments amid claims that only those who bankrolled the Revolution for Prosperity (RFP)’s campaign to win power in 2022 were the ones favoured with payments once it got into power.
The rejection of Lesotho’s cancer patients by South African hospitals has been a long time coming. The M218 million owed to the Department of Health in the Free State, is cumulative from 2016. It is not clear when the M114 million claimed by Ms Mahase was paid.
The Sunday Express reported in mid-March that on February 28 this year, South Africa’s Department of Health (DOH) in the Free State Province, demanded that the Ministry of Health settle part of the R218 million owed for the treatment of Lesotho’s cancer patients.
The Free State’s DOH demanded that the Lesotho government should have at least paid R66 527 690.67 of the R218 493 423.23 before Tuesday the 31st of March 2024.
The information was contained in a letter penned by one MNG Mahlatsi, Head of Health at the Free State Department of Health.
The letter which was titled ‘FOLLOW UP ON THE OUTSTANDING DEBT FOR LESOTHO REFERRALS TO UNIVERSITAS AND PELONOMI HOSPITALS AS WELL AS PAYMENT PLAN’, was addressed to Lesotho’s now retired Director-General of Health Services, ‘Nyane Letsie.
Admission
At the time, Minister of Health Selibe Mochoboroane had admitted that the government owed two Free State hospitals, namely Pelonomi and Universitas, a cumulative debt of over M218 million dating back to 2016 for the treatment of cancer patients.
The government takes cancer patients for treatment to South Africa’s Universitas and Pelonomi Hospitals because of lack of capacity within the country.
However, it now takes at least seven months for a Lesotho patient to get treatment in South Africa due to this debt problem.
This surfaced on Friday during parliament’s Social Cluster Portfolio Committee tour of the Sankatana Oncology Centre in Maseru.
The committee wanted to determine the Centre’s condition so that it can make the appropriate recommendations to the Ministry of Health. The Centre does not have the capacity to treat cancer patients yet after diagnosis.
The facility’s Clinical Radiation Oncologist, Kabelo Mputsoe, told the Committee that the government needed to act swiftly as cancer patients were dying at a high rate.
“The seven months which our patients are made to wait for in order to be admitted in South Africa is too much. It is so painful to watch a cancer patient’s life deteriorate during that waiting period from the date we would have diagnosed such a patient. We watch patients die in the process,” Dr Mputsoe said.
She therefore urged the government to consider changing the South African service providers.
Frustration
For his part, the Chairperson of the Social Cluster Committee, Mokhothu Makhalanyane, expressed frustration over the absence of a cancer centre in Lesotho.
He said the construction of a cancer centre was being delayed by “unreasonable selfish reasons”.
He said the project started in 2011 and because of “politics surrounding it”, had not been completed.
“We are doing all in our power to see that there is progress but Basotho can be very selfish. They are frustrating this project so that it does not continue. I wish Basotho could see the pain their fellow countrymen are enduring because of the absence of a cancer centre in the country.
“The project is failing to make progress despite its budget being allocated. They are busy fighting over the project in court, thus, restricting its progress,” he angrily said.
Suffering Patients
A guardian to one cancer patient who spoke to the Sunday Express on Friday, said her sister was dying a slow painful death before their eyes and there was nothing they could do to change the situation.
‘Maliau Pita said her sister was diagnosed with anal cancer in November last year. She said the diagnosis was done while her sister was still looking healthy and able to walk.
However, it had been eight months since the diagnosis but had not yet been treated. Ms Pita said they had been rejected in Bloemfontein three times while her sister’s life continued to deteriorate.
She is now bedridden, she said.
“When my sister was diagnosed with cancer, she was still well and able to do things for herself. Eight months down the line, she has still not been put on any treatment and is unable to even take herself to the toilet,” she said.
On their first visit to Bloemfontein, she said they were turned away and ordered to do an ultrasound scan. On the two following incidents, they were told there were no beds to accommodate her sister.
“As they turned us away, the hospital openly told us that they would not prioritise us since our government owed them,” she said emotionally.
In another case, Malefetsane Ratšoane told the Sunday Express that his wife was diagnosed with rectal cancer in December last year and had been waiting to be placed on treatment in Bloemfontein. But it had not happened.
Similarly, they had been turned away by Bloemfontein hospitals three times, under the same excuse of unavailable beds.
“We last went to Bloemfontein in May and were told to return on 15 July, (tomorrow). The treatment has been postponed a lot of times and that scares me as I worry whether my wife will eventually get help.
“My wife’s health is deteriorating daily and there is nothing I can do but watch her die. She even at some point attempted suicide and took an overdose of morphine and dermazon tablets and all other medication she was given at Sankatana.
“My fear is that we are still going to be turned away from Bloemfontein because we were told that we should not raise our hopes as they were not sure if there will be beds or not,” he said.
Debt Schedule
On?19th?February 2016, Universitas invoiced Queen Mamohato Memorial Hospital (UNH/QMM1) R31, 385, 477.77. An amount of R30, 000, 000 was paid resulting in an outstanding amount of R1, 385, 477.77.
The R30,000,000 was the only debt paid on record to Universitas and Pelonomi Hospitals between 2016 and 2024, unless Ms Mahase’s claim of a M114 payment is accurate. If the government has in fact made that payment, it is not clear why patients are being turned away.
On the 17th of November 2016, Universitas invoiced Queen Mamohato Memorial Hospital (UNH/QMM02) R35,607,727.49 and no payment was made. A
List of the other invoices and the dates
13th May 2022, Invoice from Universitas (UNH/QMM24) R19,173,914.31.
16th May 2022, invoice from Pelonomi (0020) R252,237.21.
08th June 2022, invoice from Pelonomi (0021) R221,855.17
04th July 2022, invoice from Universitas (UNH/QMM25) R18,301,765.89
26th September 2022, invoice from Universitas (UNH/QMM26) R18, 262,723.66.
12th October 2022, invoice from Pelonomi (0022) R1, 235,916.80
12th December 2022, invoice from Pelonomi (0023) R787,137.69
09th January 2023, Invoice from Universitas (UNH/QMM27) R21,961,808.92
17th April 2023, invoice from Universitas (UNH/QMM28) R25,317,901.33
26th April 2023, invoice from Pelonomi (0024) R350,369.94
10th May 2023,?invoice from Pelonomi (0025) R108,860.56
23rd May 2023, invoice from Universitas (UNH/QMM29) R4,038,265.61
23rd May 2023, invoice from Pelonomi (0026) R523 978,35
01st?June 2023, invoice from Universitas (UNH/QMM30) R4 688 763,14
08th?June 2023, invoice from Pelonomi (0027) R425 295,02
20th?June 2023, invoice from Universitas (UNH/QMM31) R4 194 691,61
13th July 2023, invoice from Pelonomi (0028) R100 255,93
20th June 2023, invoice from Universitas (UNH/QMM32) R3 836 435,30
16th August 2023, invoice from Pelonomi (0029) R50 278, 90
31st August 2023, invoice from? Universitas (UNH/QMM) R18 184 618,30
07th September 2023, invoice from Pelonomi (0030) R459 259,96
30th September 2023, invoice from Universitas (UNH/QMM34) R4 248 716,72
11th October 2023, invoice from Pelonomi (0031) R152 742,52
31st?October 2023, invoice from Universitas (UNH/QMM35) R18 590 259.78
08th November 2023, invoice from Pelonomi (0032) R695 175.10
30th?November 2023, invoice from Universitas (UNH/QMM36) R8 542 152.45
30th December 2023, invoice from Universitas (UNH/QMM37) R6 023 770.39
22nd January 2024, invoice from Pelonomi (0033) R330 740.77
22nd January 2024, invoice from Pelonomi (0034) R440 326.63