Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla has blamed the country’s massive backlog of toxicology reports on old equipment, procurement delays and a shortage of skilled staff.
Responding to a question from Freedom Front Plus MP Dr PJ Groenewald – who had also asked for reasons for the backlog and how Phaahla planed to eradicate this – the Minister said the exact number at forensic labs in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Pretoria was 35 776.
Of these, 2 555 cases are older than 10 years while 1 749 cases are older than nine years, 2 158 older than eight years, 3 391 cases older than five years and 11 948 cases older than a year.
He attributed the delays to ageing equipment that constantly breaks down, insufficient goods and services, delays in procurement and a lack of trained staff, reports IOL.
The National Health Laboratory Service was streamlining processes to reduce the backlog, he said, adding that this had developed because the National Department of Health (NDOH) did not have the expertise or resources to effectively do this.
“The laboratories have now been transferred from the NDOH to the NHLS, which is leveraging its resources and expertise to turn things around. The NHLS will explore, among others, the possibility of a public private partnership,” the minister added.
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