Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla has blamed the country's backlog of toxicology reports on ageing equipment, delays in procurement and a shortage of skilled staff.
Phaahla was responding to a question put forward by Freedom Front Plus MP, Dr PJ Groenewald on the total backlog of toxicological reports at laboratories currently.
Groenewald also asked about the total number of reports outstanding for between one to 10 years and older, as well as reasons for the backlog and how Phaahla plans to eradicate the backlog.
In his response, Phaahla said the total number of backlogs at forensic labs stands at 35 776 at labs in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Pretoria.
Phaahla said there are 2 555 cases older than 10 years while there are 1 749 cases 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 said the backlogs were caused by old laboratory equipment that constantly breaks down, insufficient goods and services, delays in procurement and a shortage of skilled staff.
Phaahla said the nature of the samples that must be tested, and the volume of new samples and a high incidence of urgent requests were responsible for the backlog.
“There normally are multiple samples per case, thus one case can consist of blood, urine, stomach content, liver, bile and a drug which all linked to one body," the minister explained.
He said the import of certified reference materials to confirm and quantify controlled substances is a lengthy process which further delays testing.
Phaahla said the National Health Laboratory Service is streamlining activities to focus on improving productivity to reduce the backlog.
He said the backlog developed since the National Department of Health (NDOH) did not have the expertise and resources to effectively address the backlog.
"The laboratories have now been transferred from the NDOH to the NHLS, given the efficiency of the NHLS as a specialised laboratory service. NHLS is leveraging its resources and expertise to turn things around and strives to address the backlog. Public private partnership is a legislated process which requires a defined procurement approach which requires Treasury approval. The NHLS will explore, among others, the possibility of a public private partnership," the minister added.
In 2021, the FF+ raised concerns over the country's toxicology backlog.
At the time, Groenewald said the large number of outstanding reports indicates that there is a real possibility that many drunk drivers will get away without being prosecuted, like those whose reports have still not been issued for a decade or more.
"This directly undermines the criminal justice system and the accountability of offenders. The police must get its house in order and follow-up question will be put to the Minister of Police to find out why case numbers are not provided and why the problem has not been addressed in all these years. It could point to possible corruption in the system, where people are protected as case numbers are deliberately withheld, or sheer incompetence," he said.
He added that it also raised the question of why the two departments never made any attempt to rectify the problem if it is so simple and straightforward.
"The police is supposed to enforce the law, but this is an example of where the police's conduct is actually doing the opposite and undermining the criminal justice system," he said.
IOL