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By Nonduduzo Kunene | 2019-07-09
DUE to the increasing number of cancer cases in the country, Phalala Fund is said to be owing South African hospitals medical bills estimated to be in the region of E66 million.
It is stated that some of the outstanding bills date back to the year 2013. It is no longer a secret that the country’s economy is on life support, and many patients who were looking into being supported by the fund are currently having challenges accessing these hospitals because of the outstanding bills.
These millions owed by the fund combine all six referral hospitals and clinics, which accept local cancer patients to be treated in South Africa.
This was revealed by Phalala Fund Administrator Thabsile Dlamini, when she was responding to some of the articles that have been published about the fund failure to assist cancer patients who are supposed to be referred to South African hospitals and the living conditions that these patients are supposedly subjected to.
Our sister publication, The Observer on Saturday published a story under the headline ‘Principals not happy with Chris Hani Baragwanth Hospital’.
In the article, the principals voiced out their concerns at the conditions they found their pupils in, who are currently undergoing various cancer treatments.
It is reported that government, through Phalala Fund, only pays hospital bills and not accommodation fees.
The fund administrator narrated several difficulties that the fund is currently facing due to the financial slump the country is facing.
First among those being the fund’s not being able to transfer patients to referral hospitals in South Africa, mostly cancer patients.
“We live on negotiations and begging doctors and hospitals to accept local cancer patients because of the bad records we have in terms of paying outstanding debts,” she said.
Owed
Secondly, the E66 million owed by Eswatini to SA hospitals is not the only debt, as there are other debts from Maputo Referral Hospital, which specialises on optical referrals, as well as the local Clinic Group is also owed by the fund.
Dlamini, who was in the company of the fund’s accountant, stated that because of the debt, there are only six hospitals that allows local cancer patients and they are public hospitals.
These hospitals include Chris Hani Baragwaneth Hospital, Arwyp Medical Centre, Busa Med and The Clinic Group, which has three hospitals under its wing.
“These hospitals and its doctors understand the situation that we are currently facing as a fund,” she said.
Specialists
Moreover, Dlamini said in most cases they find it difficult to find specialists doctors within the six hospitals for every cancer case. This is because they cannot afford private or any other institutions besides the three.
Dlamini said in some cases, a specialist doctor may be willing to operate or attend to a patient’s case, but if the hospital does not allow Emaswati patients then their efforts becomes in vain.
The matron shared that for every cancer or illness, the levels of treatment and admission vary. As a result of that as a fund, they are tasked to constantly conduct case management analysis which have different costs.
“There are four stages at which a patient is admitted under,” she said.
Firstly, she said there is the ICU stage which costs E15 000 per day. The second stage, being high care, which costs E10 000 per day and the general ward which costs E6 000 per day. After a patients goes through all these four stages, he/she is then transferred to the recovery lodge, which costs E900 per day.
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