POLOKWANE – Cancer patients who receive radiation therapy at the Pietersburg Provincial Hospital cannot get their therapy because the radiation machine is out of order.
In April last year patients were also sent home because the machine was not working.
The department then said they had engaged with a service provider who will service the machines continuously to ensure this does not happen again, yet now it has.
According to patients who spoke to Review on condition of anonymity out of fear of being victimised, the hospital personnel could not tell them when the machine would be working again.
“They told us they did not know when the machine will be working again and advised us to phone the hospital daily to find out whether the machine is working or not.
“This is unacceptable from the department of health, because a broken machine is standing in our way of getting better.
“I hope the department realises that their mistake or technical error could cost us our lives,” one patient said.
A department of health spokesperson, Macks Lesufi, confirmed that the radiation machine is not working.
“I can confirm that the machine is not functional and the institution is addressing the matter with the service provider and a meeting is scheduled for Wednesday (tomorrow),” Lesufi said.
Asked what caused the machine to break after it was upgraded last year, Lesufi did not give comment.
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