Johannesburg – The Gauteng Department of Health (GDoH) has announced that it will appeal a court order declaring its failure to provide patients needing radiation oncology services unconstitutional.
The judgment on 27 March 2025 – in favour of the Cancer Alliance – also required the GDoH to update the backlog list within 45 days, to provide services to about 3 000 patients, and to report back to the Court within three months.
However, on Wednesday, (7 May 2025), the court heard an application for leave to appeal instituted by the provincial health respondents regarding a judgment in favour of the Cancer Alliance.
The court granted the provincial health respondents leave to appeal the judgment to the Supreme Court of Appeal.
“This follows the department’s filing of a Notice of Application for Leave to Appeal on 2 April 2025,” said the GDoH.
The GDoH said it welcomes the decision by Acting Judge S. van Nieuwenhuizen to grant leave to appeal the judgment and order relating to the provision of radiation oncology services and the allocation of R250 million, which was unspent and returned to Treasury.
“The decision confirms that there are substantial legal grounds warranting further judicial consideration on several critical aspects of the case,” the department said.
The GDoH said it was appealing the entire judgment, which it expected Cancer Alliance, represented by SECTION27, to oppose.
“While leave to appeal is frequently granted, the facts of the particular case as laid out in the judgment, and the order that the GDoH is appealing, are important to understand,” the GDoH said.
