Unnecessary Anesthesia for a simple proceedure to up the cost.

I recently contacted Netcare Akasia Hospital to enquire about a Fine Needle Aspiration that was requested by my family Dr. I was informed that the proceedure would require a general anaesthetic and consequently would cost at least R 100,000. I am a Health Care professional with 37 years experience of Surgery and General Medicine and know very well that that is totally unnecessary. The proceedure can be done in a few moments under local (often with sonar to guide the needle). This is a really shameful example of exploitation of vulnerable patients by a greedy private hospital. I urge all potential patients considering using a private Hospital to be as informed as possible before committing to a proceedure or treatment.