The Cancer Alliance and SECTION27 have expressed deep disappointment after the Johannesburg High Court set aside an order that would have forced the Gauteng Department of Health to urgently address the province’s deadly backlog in radiation oncology services.
The ruling, delivered on Monday, overturns Judge Dippenaar’s August 2025 judgment, which had compelled the department to immediately update the oncology backlog list, provide radiation services to patients, and report to the court on progress, despite the pending appeal in the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA).
SECTION27 spokesperson Pearl Nicodemus said the ruling is a major setback for cancer patients who have already waited months or years for essential treatment.
Nicodemus explained that in March this year, the Cancer Alliance secured a significant victory when Van Nieuwenhuizen AJ ordered the provincial health department to take urgent steps to fix the crisis in radiation oncology services. The department, however, appealed the judgment, which automatically suspended the order.
“Recognising the urgency, we returned to the High Court in August seeking a Section 18 order to force compliance while the appeal was pending,” Nicodemus said.
“Judge Dippenaar ruled in our favour, but the provincial health respondents appealed this order on 7 October.”
The High Court has now found that Judge Dippenaar erred in determining that “exceptional circumstances” existed to justify immediate enforcement of the March judgment. It also held that the health department has prospects of success at the SCA and that updating the backlog list alone would not prevent irreparable harm to patients.
Nicodemus said the outcome means the March ruling, though still a victory in principle, remains suspended until the SCA appeal is concluded.
“A major issue in the litigation has been the accuracy of the backlog list compiled by the Cancer Alliance with clinicians and GDoH officials as part of the oncology task team,” she said.
While the judgment delays implementation of critical relief for radiation-awaiting patients, the Cancer Alliance and SECTION27 say they remain committed to fighting for improved access to healthcare. The matter is now headed to the SCA, where it is expected to be heard in the first term of 2026.
The Star
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