Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi issued a public apology on May 13 to cancer patients at Steve Biko Hospital and other hospitals affected by prolonged treatment delays, acknowledging the province’s failure to use allocated funds for radiation therapy.
However, critics argue that the apology offers little solace to the families of those who have died awaiting care.
Lesufi’s statement comes in response to a Gauteng High Court ruling on March 27, which found the Gauteng Department of Health’s (GDH) failure to provide timely cancer treatment both unlawful and unconstitutional.
Despite this, the department has been granted leave to appeal the judgment.
Lesufi mentioned a detailed report outlining plans to eliminate the treatment backlog, but did not provide specifics.
DA MPL Jack Bloom expressed scepticism, stating, “Lesufi says he has a detailed report from the department on how they will clear the backlog, but it is too late for hundreds of cancer patients who urgently needed radiation therapy”.
He also highlighted disparities between Gauteng hospitals. “The backlog for cancer patients at the Steve Biko Hospital in Pretoria is much better than at the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Hospital, which was badly affected by the fire in April 2021. But it still remains a backlog in Pretoria.”
The crisis has been exacerbated by the department’s failure to spend R784-million allocated in March 2023 for outsourcing radiation oncology services. As of October 2024, R511-million remained unspent, despite more than 2 600 patients awaiting treatment in the whole of Gauteng.
Civil society organisations, including Section27 and Cancer Alliance, have taken legal action against the GDH for its inaction. They argue that the department’s delays have led to unnecessary suffering and deaths among cancer patients.
Bloom emphasised the need for accountability, noting that “more lives have been lost in this scandal than the 144 mental patients who died in the Life Esidimeni tragedy”.
In a separate health authorities’ issue, reports have emerged of patients being turned away from the metro’s Karenpark Clinic in Akasia due to a lack of available doctors.
The clinic, which specialises in women’s and children’s health, has been affected by the termination of doctors’ contracts by the GDH on March 31.
Freedom Front Plus councillor Rina Marx said, “Patients who have arrived at the Karenpark Clinic in Akasia in recent weeks have been turned away because there was no doctor on duty to treat them”.
She emphasised that essential healthcare is being denied to residents who cannot afford private medical care.
She had previously warned the GDH that this situation would arise following the department’s abrupt termination of doctors’ contracts.
All the affected doctors whose services were terminated were part of the National Health Insurance (NHI) pilot programme.
Thousands of patients who rely on the 24 clinics in the Tshwane metro are impacted by this decision.
Metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo refuted these claims, stating that the Karenpark Clinic continues to operate with available resources and that not all clients require a doctor’s consultation.
On a national level, a court’s decision marks a significant development in the ongoing debate over the future of healthcare in South Africa.
Solidarity has welcomed a High Court ruling that allows for the review of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s signing of the NHI Act.
The judgment requires the president to provide reasons for his decision to sign the act into law.
“This ruling is a significant step in our legal challenge against the NHI,” said Theuns du Buisson, economic researcher at the Solidarity Research Institute.
“It underscores our position that the NHI Act is unconstitutional, illegal, and irrational.”
Solidarity filed its court papers shortly after the president signed the act in May 2024.
The organisation argues that the act’s provisions infringe on healthcare practitioners’ rights and could lead to poorer healthcare services.
“The government wants to change to a system in which healthcare is nationalised and healthcare practitioners become servants of the state,” said Solidarity CEO Dr Dirk Hermann. “This victory in the court thwarts those disastrous plans.”
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