NO X-RAYS AT LILLIAN NGOYI CLINIC

The X-ray machine at the Lillian Ngoyi Community Health Centre in Soweto has been out of order for a month, depriving many patients of quick diagnosis as they have to be sent to another clinic for x-rays.

I visited the clinic this morning after receiving complaints and staff told me that more than 60 patients need x-rays every day but they can only send 15 to 20 patients to the Mofolo clinic, which is some distance away, to have x-rays done there.

Emergency cases are sent to the nearby Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital.

Patients who miss the quota for the Mofolo clinic are told to come back early the next day, but they might still not get sent for an x-ray.

I am greatly concerned that about 40 patients a day are not getting x-rays at the clinic.

It is unclear why the x-ray machine has not been fixed, but it is probably because of the budget crisis faced by the Gauteng Health Department.

I hope that the Department gets the machine fixed as soon as possible as it is an unacceptable gap in the treatment of patients at this clinic.

Statement issued by Jack Bloom MPL, DA Gauteng Shadow Health MEC, 21 February 2018