Gauteng Health denies risking lives by deliberately delaying Oncology tenders

Johnathan Paoli

THE Gauteng Department of Health (GDoH) on Friday dismissed allegations from the DA that it was deliberately delaying the awarding of a tender for the outsourcing of oncology radiation services for breast and prostate cancer patients.

This follows a statement by DA shadow MEC for health in the province, Jack Bloom which questioned the process surrounding the tender and inquired as to its status.

The tender was to address the backlog in surgical and radiation oncology services, with an allocation of R784 million in May last year.

GDoH spokesperson Motalatale Modiba said R534 million of the amount had been invested in oncology medical and allied equipment such cutting-edge linear accelerator machines and the building of bunkers for some of the machines within this financial year.

“In addition, R250 million has been allocated for the outsourcing of the radiation oncology tender, which is at an advanced stage of finalisation,”