Friday, 29 March, 2024
HomeWeekly RoundupCharlotte Maxeke's 2 new accelerators will cut cancer treatment waiting times

Charlotte Maxeke's 2 new accelerators will cut cancer treatment waiting times

Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital (CMJAH) procured two linear accelerator machines which will decrease the waiting time for cancer patients, the Gauteng Health is quoted in a News24 report as saying.

The two machines, procured at a value of R105m, impacted positively on about 71 cancer patients treated during the period of December 2019 to February 2020. "These new machines will also assist in terms of reducing the waiting list for cancer patients at CMJAH," said spokesperson Kwara Kekana.

The report says the new machines were acquired after the previous machines needed to be replaced on 13 May 2019, and were decommissioned from September 2019 until November 2019. "The staff has undergone an intensive training programme to familiarise themselves with the new state-of-the-art technology," said Kekana.

In a bid to further improve the quality of healthcare in the province, the department also procured two additional cancer machines, at a value of R52m, to replace the old machines. These machines will be delivered in the second week of March.

The report says several other measures had also been put in place to improve the treatment of cancer patients at CMJAH, including: extending working hours from 07h30-16h00 to 07h00-20h00; collaborating with Steve Biko Academic Hospital to accommodate their cancer patients; and offering sessional hours to private practitioners.

The report says CMJAH will collaborate with Klerksdorp Hospital to take some of the cervical cancer patients to address the backlog as of March 2020. This will see close to 80 patients being treated by July 2020.

[link url="https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/how-gauteng-healths-new-machines-will-impact-positively-on-cancer-patients-20200305"]Full News24 report[/link]

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