Gauteng Department of Health appeals court order for urgent radiation oncology services

The ongoing legal battle where the Cancer Alliance and Section27 obtained a court order compelling the Gauteng Department of Health (GDoH) to provide urgent radiation oncology services to cancer patients, is not over, with the department now appealing the judgment.

Section27, representing Cancer Alliance, said it noted with disappointment the department’s appeal to the recent judgment by the Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg, in the case for radiation oncology treatment. 

Cancer Alliance intends to oppose this appeal and views it as yet another attempt by the department to delay providing treatment to patients on the backlog list for radiation oncology treatment. This is despite having received R784 million from Gauteng Treasury in March 2023 to clear the backlog. 

The matter has been set down for hearing by the full bench (three judges) of the court in the week of October 6. 

The judgment handed down in favour of Cancer Alliance last month by Judge Evette Dippenaar  stated that the order handed down in March was immediately enforceable and not suspended by the pending appeal proceedings instituted by the department in the Supreme Court of Appeal. 

Section27 explained that what this additional appeal by the department means is that the operation of the March order is suspended pending the outcome of its next appeal.

“This is yet another blow to patients in Gauteng who have been waiting to receive radiation treatment for years,” Section27 said.  

In its application, the department denies the existence of a backlog list of cancer patients who have been waiting for radiation oncology treatment since 2022. They also argue that this matter, brought before the court by Cancer Alliance, is not urgent. 

Cancer Alliance and Section27 expressed concern over the department’s use of the legal system to delay treatment for vulnerable patients, potentially at the expense of their lives.

“We are particularly troubled by GDoH’s argument that this matter is not urgent, while lives have been lost and are being lost. We call on GDoH to ensure that the backlog list provided to them in 2022 is updated, and that they provide the court with an updated backlog list and a report on their plans to treat the patients on the backlog list as required by the March 2025 court order,” Section27 said.

The Gauteng MEC for Health and the Department of Health that she leads have now been required in two court orders to provide radiation oncology to desperate patients and to provide a report on progress to the court.

“This is not an unreasonable task, nor a task that goes beyond the GDoH’s mandate,” Section27 said.

It added that the department’s ongoing failure to comply with its constitutional obligations, now laid out in two court judgments, is deeply troubling and harmful to the 3,000 people who appear to be lost in a failing system.

zelda.venter@inl.co.za