The Free State health department has announced that its financial situation has reached '€œdire proportions'€ forcing it to postpone all non-emergency surgery until January next year and stop all non-critical staff appointments.

Free State doctors say some patients denied antiretroviral treatment because of the financial crisis in the province will die, and fear that they might face court action.

Panicky e-mails sent to Free State health facilities with instructions to '€œstop putting new clients on ARVs'€ appear to have been caused by a misinterpretation of the budget or gross financial mismanagement after National Treasury indicated that the province had spent less than half of its conditional grant allocated for prevention and treatment.

Ten years later, health services in the flat, often bleak, central province of Free State are stable and the quality of care is improving.