CANCER TREATMENT STATS UNBELIEVABLE

Sir,

I read with surprise and disappointment a story written by Bonisile Makhubu in the Swazi News, Saturday January 19, 2019 edition on the subject ‘Number of patients sent to SA declines.”

It was stated in the story that now Eswatini sends 20 patients per year to South Africa instead of 100.
The report further stated that the deputy director, Ministry of Health, indicated that the 80 per cent of people who needed to be transferred to South Africa were cancer patients who are now sent to local medical experts in the field who take care of them. 

Questions

When I finished reading the story I felt deep pain within myself. I asked myself questions that I do not have answers to.
I think the Ministry of Health has answers to them. Can the Ministry of Health tell us how many patients died because they were denied the opportunity to return to their medical specialists in South Africa, especially the cancer patients?

Where are the medical specialists in Eswatini?
Do they have the equipment available in South Africa?

The only medical specialist they referred one of my relatives in Manzini does not have adequate equipment.
Has the ministry worried itself about the life of the patients and assessed the Manzini expert services if they do qualify to assist the patients?

Assisted

How may funerals have been conducted for patients who have failed to be assisted locally after Phalala failed to take them to South Africa?
Some of the patients, especially civil servants, are in debt to facilitate their medication in South Africa.

On the other hand, the ministry stated that it had reduced the number of patients taken to South Africa by 80 per cent.
Does the ministry mean that it has reduced the number through the deaths and those that are struggling to pay their hospital bills? 
I think it is unfair for the ministry to paint a bright picture of the limited resources the country has at the expense of dying Emaswati at the hands of the Phalala Fund.

Niyabahleka kutsi basitakala locally when in fact they are dying.
Limited
I think it would have been better and correct to just say the number of patients sent to South Africa has declined due to limited resources - period.
Not to rub salt into an open wound; patients are still suffering and their life is progressively worsening due to unavailable experts, equipment and medication for cancer patients in Eswatini hospitals, including the private clinics.
Hence the ministry should not have said anything about its failures. Painful indeed. 

Jabulani Dlamini

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