SACHS J
SACHS J:
[50]
I am in full agreement with the eloquent, forceful and well-focused judgment of
Chaskalson P and wish merely to add certain considerations which I regard as relevant.
[51]
The special attention given by section 27(3) to non-refusal of emergency medical
treatment relates to the particular sense of shock to our notions of human solidarity
occasioned by the turning away from hospital of people battered and bleeding or of those
who fall victim to sudden and unexpected collapse. It provides reassurance to all
members of society that accident and emergency departments will be available to deal
with the unforeseeable catastrophes which could befall any person, anywhere and at any
time.1 The values protected by section 27(3) would, accordingly, be undermined rather
than reinforced by any unwarranted conflation of emergency and non-emergency
treatment such as that argued for by the appellant.
[52]
In a case such as the present which engages our compassion to the full, I feel it
necessary to underline the fact that Chaskalson P’s judgment, as I understand it, does not
1
See B New The Rationing Agenda in the NHS (King’s Fund Policy Institute, London 1996) at 9.
28
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