Dear Editor
The DA calls for the dissolution of the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) board, as well as the suspension of its CEO, Dr Magome Masike, and head of legal services, Adv Phelelani Khumalo, after revelations that the Council knowingly and intentionally enforced regulations declared illegal by the Competition Commission in 2011 and issued fines of up to R60 000 to medical professionals who contravened these unlawful regulations.
According to the South African Medical Association (SAMA), the Department of Health and all the Health Ministers, including Dr Joe Phaahla, failed to implement recommendations from an October 2015 ministerial report that found the HPSCA rife with mismanagement and maladministration. And in 2019, the Competition Commission’s market inquiry report also made findings against the HPCSA ethical rules, especially those regarding fee-sharing, multidisciplinary group practices, and employment of doctors.
The HPCSA has failed to serve the interests of its members for a very long time. Annually, the DA is inundated with requests for help from unplaced interns and community service doctors, doctors who qualified in foreign countries struggling with accreditation and registration, and concerns that complaints and investigations are being mismanaged.
This latest revelation shows that nothing has changed since the 2015 report found that under Adv Khumalo the HPCSA was a “dysfunctional system of professional conduct enquiries which has prejudiced practitioners and the public”.
This wilful unlawful conduct by the HPCSA is a terrible omen of the chaos and corruption that will surely trademark the National Health Insurance (NHI), as the Council will have the sole responsibility of registering and accrediting all health workers. Given the dire and debilitating circumstances created by the body meant to support them and the NHI threat, it is no wonder that medical professionals are already seeking opportunities elsewhere.
Regards
Michele Clarke MP
DA Shadow Minister of Health
Elektrik
Vatican City: You have two cows. They were both taken advantage of as calves.
Uncle Psycho
A baby was born in South Africa. The village was very poor, and the makeshift hospital didn\’t have some necessary equipment.. such as scales.
The father however, was desperate to know the newborn baby\’s weight. After quite a bit of asking around, the hospital\’s chairman came up with an idea.
\”Five miles west, there\’s a butcher shop. The owner deals with meat, he should have a rather precise scale. You could just put your baby on the meat scale, and the weight reading you\’ll get should be pretty accurate.\”
And so the father departed westward. After much walking, with his newborn child cardled safely in his arms, he finally arrived at the butcher shop. He explained his dilemma to the shop owner, to witch the latter replied:
\”Don\’t worry, friend. It\’s not even a problem, I\’ll check it for you, free of charge.\” And so he took the child to the back, where the scale was located.
The father heard rumbling noises, and some scraping.. About a minute later the butcher came back.
\”About three pounds boneless\” He said.