Gauteng health granted leave to appeal cancer treatment backlog judgment

The Gauteng health department on Wednesday welcomed the decision by the Joburg high court granting it leave to appeal a judgment and order delivered on March 27 relating to the provision of radiation oncology services.

The March judgment declared unlawful and unconstitutional the department’s failure to deal with a backlog of more than 3,000 cancer patients who have been waiting up to three years for treatment unlawful and unconstitutional.

The court also directed the department to take all steps necessary to provide radiation and oncology services to backlog patients at either a public or private facility, to file an updated report within three months and give a detailed progress report and a long-term plan to provide radiation and oncology services to backlog patients. 

After the judgment, the department filed an application for leave to appeal last month.

“The decision confirms that there are substantial legal grounds warranting further judicial consideration on several critical aspects of the case,” the department said in a statement.

It said it would now proceed with the appeal process to ensure the issues raised in the judgment were comprehensively assessed and clarified.

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