The health department has denied planning to discharge "untreatable" MDR-TB and XDR-TB infected patients from state hospitals.

"We've never said anything like that... there's no way we can let such patients go before they recover," spokesperson Fidel Hadebe said on Wednesday.

The Dispatch reported the department was considering discharging such patients from isolation facilities after a year, instead of keeping them quarantined indefinitely.

Medical practitioners told the newspaper that prolonged confinement was not the answer.

However, national TB Unit director Dr Lindiwe Mvusi was quoted in the report as saying that releasing patients was "reckless" and never part of any discussion.

"What we are looking at, is to make available another hospital in Mthatha, Eastern Cape, to accommodate patients in surrounding areas so that they won't have to travel long distances to get to hospitals," she said.

"Patients will still be admitted to hospitals to ensure that they are given treatment, counseling and, as per policy of the department, released only when they test negative."

The plight of TB patients recently made headlines at two Eastern Cape hospitals — Jose Pearson in Port Elizabeth with about 300 patients, and Fort Grey in East London treating about 150 TB patients.

Some absconded to be with their families, while others went on a hunger strike, demanding disability grants.

Mvusi said it was important that patients be kept in isolation to stop the disease spreading. Doctors also needed to be able to manage the severe side effects of the drugs used for treatment.

Sapa