Malfunctioning, broken equipment at government hospitals is nothing new, and after a recent such occasion, a cancer patient in Gqeberha had to resort to public crowdfunding to pay for a private scan, reports Daily Maverick.
When the CT scanners at Livingstone Hospital stopped working, it placed patients in an uncertain, worrying situation, with no access to essential diagnostic services. One of them was Charmaine van den Berg (70), whose world was turned upside down after being diagnosed with breast cancer on 11 September.
Her diagnosis was the beginning of a difficult journey through the Eastern Cape public healthcare system.
When she returned to Livingstone Hospital on 8 October for a CT scan to establish the extent of her cancer, she was told the hospital’s scanners were not working.
She had discovered a lump in her breast on 16 August. By the time she received the diagnosis, she said, she had begun preparing herself for the possibility of cancer.
But what should have been a relatively straightforward process to establish the extent of the cancer through a CT scan became a drawn-out ordeal.
At Livingstone Hospital on 8 October, she was directed to the CT scanner in the casualty department, only to be told it was not working. A nurse then accompanied her to the hospital’s main scanner.
“When I got there, there were a lot of people there who had been rebooked. I was told the main scanner had been broken for some time, and the other one for three days. They didn’t know when it would be repaired,” she said.
CT scans are a critical part of cancer diagnosis and treatment planning, helping oncologists establish the extent of the disease and determine the appropriate treatment.
Technical fault
Livingstone Hospital CEO Tembisa Notshe confirmed that the emergency department’s CT scanner broke down on 5 October and required manufacturer support and component replacement. Notshe said the scanner was returned to service on 4 November.
“Due to the complexity of the breakdown, some of the failed components could only be identified after replacement of other faulty parts. Those had to be sourced from overseas.”
Asked how many CT scanners Livingstone Hospital had and how many were operational, Notshe said it had two, of which one was functional. The hospital’s older oncology CT scanner, used for radiotherapy planning, is also nearing the end of its serviceable life.
The scanner was still out of service when Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka made an unannounced visit to the hospital on 22 October, when she said the tertiary facility had “a serious problem of governance, leadership and management”.
Patients referred to private practice
While the CT scanner was out of service, Livingstone Hospital referred about 26 patients for emergency scans at private radiology provider Bay Radiology, with the hospital covering the costs.
Notshe said arrangements with Bay Radiology were made immediately when it became clear the scanner could not be repaired quickly.
She disputed that patients had experienced delays in diagnosis or treatment because of the breakdown. She said the hospital had recorded no adverse patient outcomes, including deaths or permanent disabilities, linked to delays in accessing CT imaging.
Public support for scan
Concerned that neither of the scanners at Livingstone Hospital was available when she needed her scan, Van den Berg’s family turned to crowdfunding.
Without medical aid, she said, a private CT scan could cost as much as R25 000.
“If you’re getting a Sassa grant, it will take you a lifetime to pay that off,” she said. “Through generous donors, we managed to secure enough funds to make a commitment and pay the R7 000 deposit so that I could have the scan done privately.”
While she was grateful for her access to private healthcare, Van den Berg, who recently underwent her first round of chemotherapy, voiced concern for those reliant on public facilities after learning that at least eight patients at Livingstone Hospital were in critical condition.
“Even after I had my scan, I was thinking of those patients who needed it. Because the cancer can spread to your bones, your liver, your kidneys, brain … you can’t wait to have that CT scan,” she said.
She said the Eastern Cape Department of Health “and the hospital need to get their administration right”.
Donation
Notshe said the FNB Foundation had offered to donate CT scanners to the Eastern Cape Department of Health in March 2025, and the hospital had initially requested a radiotherapy planning CT simulator.
However, by the time the foundation was ready to purchase it, the department had already awarded a contract for a similar machine.
The foundation then reopened the donation process, ultimately redirecting the equipment to benefit Livingstone Tertiary Hospital’s Port Elizabeth Provincial Hospital-based services.
Notshe said the manufacturer of the emergency CT scanner had accepted responsibility for the breakdown and committed to supplying the hospital with a new mobile scanner within three months, at no cost to the facility.
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
Public Protector slams Eastern Cape Health
Task team probes staff crisis at Livingstone Hospital
Under-fire Livingstone Hospital now runs out of soap, claim staff