Gauteng DA: GP Health Dept appealing judgment on radiotherapy will cause delays for cancer patients
The court ruled that the department’s failure to implement a timely plan to provide radiation oncology services to patients on the backlog list was unconstitutional and unlawful.
Democratic Alliance (DA) flag. Picture: X/@DA_Gauteng
JOHANNESBURG - The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng said that the Department of Health’s decision to appeal the judgment on radiation oncology service would cause further delays for cancer patients.
On Wednesday, the Department of Health took legal action against a recent Johannesburg High Court judgment.
The court ruled that the department’s failure to implement a timely plan to provide radiation oncology services to patients on the backlog list was unconstitutional and unlawful.
In 2024, advocacy group Cancer Alliance took the Gauteng Department of Health to court for failing to use the money allocated by the provincial treasury in 2023 to address radiation and surgical backlogs.
The Johannesburg High Court ruled in favour of the group, giving the department 45 days to submit a report on progress in providing services to patients.
"The DA in Gauteng condemns the Gauteng Health Department’s decision to appeal the High Court judgment that its treatment of cancer patients is unlawful and unconstitutional," said the Gauteng DA’s Jack Bloom.
"This will further delay the urgent need to drastically reduce the backlog of cancer patients who need radiation therapy."
Meanwhile, the department said if the ruling remains unchallenged, patients receiving radiation oncology could be harmed and this ruling could create an undesirable precedent.