The Cancer Alliance says it will not be deterred by the Gauteng High Court’s decision to overturn a previous ruling that ordered the province’s health department to provide radiation oncology services to patients on the backlog list for cancer treatment. 

This comes after a recent appeal by the Gauteng Department of Health (GDoH) and the MEC for Health in Gauteng, Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko, against the earlier ruling for it to provide urgent radiation oncology services to cancer patients.

Reacting to this ruling, the Cancer Alliance and SECTION27 said they “note with disappointment the judgment delivered by the Johannesburg High Court recently”, after the Court upheld the appeal and set aside the order handed down by Judge Fiona Dippenaar.

In March, the Cancer Alliance and the cancer patients it represents celebrated a victory after a judgment held that the Gauteng provincial health respondents must, among other things, update the backlog list of patients awaiting radiation oncology services, provide radiation oncology services to patients awaiting radiation, and report to the Court on their progress.

Following the judgment, the Gauteng provincial health respondents sought permission from the High Court to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA). The appeal was granted, which meant that the March order was suspended pending the determination of the appeal in the SCA.

In a judgment delivered last week, the Court found that Judge Dippenaar erred in finding that there were exceptional circumstances which warrant immediate execution of the order.

The Cancer Alliance and Section 27 said that the judgment means March order remains suspended until the SCA delivers its decision, with the major point of dispute in the litigation having been “the accuracy of the backlog list compiled by the Cancer Alliance”.

Speaking on behalf of the Alliance, Pearl Nicodemus said they were disappointed.

“The court has erred in several aspects of this case, as this judgment implies that the March 2025 judgment, while it still stands as a victory for the Cancer Alliance and cancer patients awaiting radiation oncology, is suspended pending the finalisation of the appeal in the SCA,” Nicodemus stated.

Meanwhile, the DA’s Jack Bloom, said the department has stalled the disclosure of the backlog list of cancer patients.

“The Department should be cooperating with NGOs to ensure speedy radiation treatment of cancer patients as delays risk the lives of hundreds of patients,” Bloom said.

siyabonga.sithole@inl.co.za

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