Hope you can improve!

Dear Discovery Health,

I am writing this letter with deep disappointment and concern regarding my recent experience with your Oncology Department. Over the past few weeks, I have heard numerous complaints from other Discovery Health members undergoing cancer treatment. In a hospital room alone, three patients diagnosed with leukaemia — all Discovery members — expressed serious dissatisfaction with the lack of support they were receiving. At the time, I thought this could not possibly be true. Unfortunately, I now understand exactly what they meant. From the moment of diagnosis, we were met with poor communication, no empathy, and a complete lack of guidance from the Oncology Department. Cancer is not a common cold — it is a life‑altering, earth‑shattering diagnosis for both the patient and their family. At no point was there any acknowledgement of this reality. Not a single word of sympathy or reassurance that Discovery was there to support us during this process. Our experience unfolded as follows:

On my first call, I was informed that the oncology application would take 3–5 working days, which I understood. On follow‑up, I was simply told again that it takes 3–5 working days and that the case was “with the case manager”. No one could give a clear date, no one offered to check the status, and no one offered to send a follow‑up communication. There was no ownership, no proactive communication, and no sense of urgency.

After six days, I was eventually informed that the medication had been approved and that I must obtain a prescription from the doctor in order to collect it from the pharmacy. This, however, was incorrect. The treating doctor confirmed that no prescription is issued for this specialised oncology medication. Once again, I had to contact Discovery to clarify information that should have been known by your oncology agents. Only after getting really frustratted with the matter — and after more than a week had passed — was I told that the approval letter must be sent directly by the doctor to the pharmacy for the medication to be dispensed. We, as the family, never even received a copy of this approval. Ironically, the most efficient, empathetic and helpful assistance throughout this entire process came from the pharmacy, where a staff member kindly explained the process, timelines and next steps — something your Oncology Department failed to do entirely. I want to be very clear: We are not robots. We are families facing cancer. At this point, what we needed most was clarity, empathy, guidance and support. Instead, we were met with confusion, indifference and a call‑centre‑style experience that felt no different from dealing with a telecom provider. This experience has left us feeling abandoned at one of the most vulnerable moments of our lives. I sincerely hope Discovery Health takes this feedback seriously, especially within the Oncology Department, where compassion, communication and accountability should be non‑negotiable. Yours sincerely,