Charmaine van den Berg, a 70-year-old breast cancer patient diagnosed on 11 September 2026, turned to crowdfunding after Livingstone Hospital in Gqeberha could not provide a CT scan due to equipment failures. Van den Berg sought the scan in early October but was told the hospital’s emergency department scanner had broken down on 5 October and was only restored on 4 November, severely limiting access during a critical time.
Livingstone Hospital, which has two CT scanners, had only one operational throughout the outage. The facility referred about 26 emergency patients to Bay Radiology for CT scans, covering the costs themselves, according to hospital CEO Tembisa Notshe. She explained the breakdown was complex, involving faulty components sourced from overseas, which delayed repairs.
Van den Berg said bluntly, “It was not working.” With public scanners unavailable, her family turned to crowdfunding to pay for a private scan. The Daily Maverick reported private CT scans can cost up to R25,000 without medical aid, although this figure remains unverified. The family’s crowdfunding covered a deposit towards the scan.
The failure at Livingstone Hospital underscores long-standing challenges. A parliamentary report and earlier medical briefings have flagged chronic pressure on the hospital’s cancer-treatment infrastructure and scanner capacity. A 2022 report highlighted that the emergency CT scanner had been broken since 2020, signalling a crisis needing urgent management.
Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka visited the hospital on 22 October 2026 and described the facility as suffering from “a serious problem of governance, leadership and management.” Her visit adds to growing official concern over service delivery failures at the hospital.
Livingstone Hospital serves a large population in the Eastern Cape, and scanner outages not only delay crucial cancer diagnostics but also create broader risks in emergency care. Medical sources have warned similar failures pose an unacceptable risk to patient safety overall.
Van den Berg’s case highlights the human cost of these systemic failures, forcing patients to seek costly private options amid public healthcare challenges. The hospital has restored the scanner but continues to face pressure to upgrade aging diagnostic equipment and improve management practices.
CapeFlats.co.za will monitor ongoing developments at Livingstone Hospital and report on any further official responses or improvements in service delivery.