Blood labs are in the red

PATIENTS visiting South Coast clinics and the regional hospital might be refused diagnostic blood tests, leaving doctors unable to treat them.

The National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) is owed almost R4 billion by KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng and due to this increasing pressure of non-payment, NHLS is not able to meet a number of its own financial commitments.

It has only enough money to pay salaries of its 7500 staff. The situation is so bad at the moment that NHLS has suspended courier services that transport blood samples from clinics in KZN to laboratories.

A phased approach that started last Thursday and every Thursday thereafter, will provide sufficient time to these provinces for payment to be made in order to reverse the suspensions.

Suspensions of specimen collection services will begin with primary health care clinics and will progress to community health centres and specialised hospitals.

This will be followed by the suspension of diagnostic pathology services at laboraties supporting district hospitals, followed by regional hospitals, then provincial tertiary hospitals and finally national central hospitals.

The KZN department of health has not paid in three years and owes R3 billion. Gauteng owes over R900 million. The two provinces have two weeks to pay up or diagnostic testing stops!

Sagie Pillay, CEO of NHLS said that this action is regrettable but unavoidable.

“As an organisation, NHLS has considered ethical perspectives and adopted a responsible approach to the suspension of services. This is a critical time for us and we want to assure the community that everything possible is being done to secure both their livelihood and that of NHLS,” said Mr Pillay.

NHLS has made several attempts to explore all options available to ensure significant payment is received from these said provinces, without success.