Court Orders Gauteng Health to Act Now on Cancer Backlog

For years, patients in Gauteng diagnosed with cancer have been caught in a cruel limbowaiting months, sometimes years, for radiation treatment that could save their lives. Now, a landmark court ruling has cut through the delays and forced the Gauteng Department of Health (GDoH) to take immediate action.

A Judge’s Hard Truth

This week, Judge Fiona Dippenaar of the Gauteng High Court delivered a scathing assessment of the health department’s handling of the crisis. She ruled that while the department waits for its appeal to be heard by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA), the order to address the backlog will remain in force.

In plain terms: Gauteng health officials cannot put life-saving treatment on hold while lawyers argue in higher courts.

Judge Dippenaar was blunt about the stakes: patients are dying while waiting, and others are seeing their cancers spread beyond the point where radiation treatment can help. “They do not have the luxury of time,” she said.

What the Court Ordered

The ruling compels the department to:

• Maintain and update a backlog list of cancer patients in need of radiation treatment.

• Ensure treatment is provided, whether in public or private facilities.

• Act on constitutional obligations to deliver healthcare that is both timely and effective.

Failure to do so, the judge warned, would amount to a “death knell” for many vulnerable patients.

Why This Case Matters

The case was brought forward by the Cancer Alliance, supported by Section27, after years of advocacy around Gauteng’s crumbling oncology services. In March, the same court had already ruled that the department’s failure to address the backlog was unlawful and unconstitutional.

But when the department secured leave to appeal, the Cancer Alliance filed an urgent application to keep the original order in effect. Their argument was simple: cancer patients don’t have time to wait for drawn-out legal processes.

The court agreed.

A Healthcare System on the Brink

Behind the legal drama lies a grim reality: Gauteng’s oncology services have been plagued by shortages of machines, lack of skilled staff, and years of administrative failures. Stories from patients and families paint a devastating picture, loved ones deteriorating as they wait for appointments, some dying before ever receiving treatment.

Healthcare activists say this isn’t just about cancer; it’s about the credibility of the public health system itself. When people can’t access care in time, trust erodes, and families are left to turn to costly private optionsif they can afford them.

Public Outcry

On social media, the ruling has been met with a mix of relief and anger. Relief that the court has prioritised patients’ lives, but anger that it took litigation to get government to act.

One post on X (formerly Twitter) captured the sentiment: “It should never take a court order for cancer patients to get treatment. This is people’s lives, not politics.”

While the department argued in court that the matter wasn’t urgent and that the High Court no longer had jurisdiction, those points were firmly rejected. Now, Gauteng Health faces both a moral and legal obligation to move swiftly.

The Cancer Alliance called the ruling “a victory for every cancer patient who has been left waiting in the shadows of the health system.”

But with backlogs stretching years and resources already thin, the real test will be whether the department can deliver on the court’s directive and do so fast enough to save lives.

{Source: The Citizen}

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