Docs to be told where to work

LazyLion

LazyLion

King of de Jungle
Joined
Mar 17, 2005
Messages
107,430
Reaction score
9,944
Location
District 9
President Jacob Zuma has quietly signed into law sections of the National Health Act that can prevent doctors and other health professionals opening private practices where they choose to.

All health professionals - such as dentists, dieticians and physiotherapists - who wish to open a private practice or clinic will have to apply to the Department of Health for "a certificate of need" to give them permission to work in their chosen suburb.

The certificate will be compulsory from April 2016.

For example, if a women becomes a doctor and wants to join her doctor mother in the family practice, her mother will need approval from the government, according to Casper Venter, director of the Healthman consultancy.

Sections 36 to 40 of the National Health Act have existed for 10 years but were not signed into law until late last year. They came into effect in April, but health professionals have two years in which to acquire the certificate of need.

According to the act, the aim is to ensure an "equitable spread" of doctors and other health professionals across the country.

Healthcare workers could face up to five years in prison or a fine if they run a private practice without a certificate after April 2016.

Venter said the law could affect a doctor who retired and wanted to sell his practice built up over many years. A doctor who did not acquire a certificate of need for that area would not be able to buy the practice from the retired doctor, meaning the government would need to approve to whom he could sell it.

The spokesman for the SA Private Practitioners' Forum, Chris Archer, said: "It's an experiment in social engineering. It is destined to fail. Doctors should be able to work and live where they choose."

He said he could understand the rationale of trying to ensure healthcare services and staff were provided in under-serviced areas, but the current effort would "end up on the dustbin of failure".

"The process will encourage bribes and corruption," he added.

Venter said the certificates would be an "administrative nightmare".

"There are about 70000 dieticians, specialists, GPs, physiotherapists and occupational therapists who would all need certificates to open a new practice in private. The department is not geared for this kind of [action]."

If a doctor is prevented from opening a practice in Sandton, it is not clear if he or she will then work in nearby Alexandra.

Archer said medical staff would "vote on the new law with their feet".

A doctor who asked not to be named said: "No problem. We will just leave [South Africa]."

The law states that before the director-general of health can issue a certificate, he must take into account how the health establishment "fits into national, provincial and municipal health planning".

He needs to look at whether doctors' and dentists' rooms are distributed equally across affluent and poor areas.

Elsabe Klinck, a health law consultant, said healthcare professionals need not panic.

"One of the criteria in the act is the financial viability of a practice, which would mean no one could force a practitioner to start a practice in an area where it would not be financially viable."

She said the health minister would need to write regulations to explain how the process would work and stakeholders would be able to comment on the regulations.

Department of Health spokesman Joe Maila said a certificate of need would be linked to the building in which the professional worked.

He could not explain what would happen if a certificate was denied or explain how the process would work for specialists who work at three different private hospitals, as is common.
Click to expand...

http://www.timeslive.co.za/thetimes/2014/05/23/docs-to-be-told-where-to-work
 
The constitutionality of this law is going to be challenged very quickly!
 
I don't see this lasting in the law for very long...

And if it does, our private healthcare practitioners will just up and leave the country.
 
The ANC: trying to force the private sector to fix their cock-ups since 1994...
 
I'm sure most doctors will just apply to open their practices in another country.
 
Awkward for my sister whom is getting her doctorate at the end of the year in chyro.

TBH I don't see this law lasting long. What are they going to do? Not allow you to practice as a professional doctor?
 
He could not explain what would happen if a certificate was denied or explain how the process would work for specialists who work at three different private hospitals, as is common.
Click to expand...

The elevator only went up to the first floor while thinking up this crap .. but the intention probably is exactly to get rid of private practitioners to pave the way for their NHI.

The best locations will naturally go to those that deem to such the Zuma c*** :wtf:
 
Geez, there are just no end to what the brainless idiots will do! I smell ulterior motives as they can now officially control who gets to practice medicine.
 
This law is noble in that it aims to provide better medical care for all people but it was not given much thought as to the repercussions.

It would be better to spend more money on the quality of education in schools and offer more government sponsored universities for Medicine if the government wants better healthcare.
 
Seriously said:
Geez, there are just no end to what the brainless idiots will do! I smell ulterior motives as they can now officially control who gets to practice medicine.
Click to expand...
Indeed, its all part of their master plan to keep everyone starving and dying like in Somalia, while they drive around in expensive Mercs
 
Mr_M said:
This law is noble in that it aims to provide better medical care for all people but it was not given much thought as to the repercussions.

It would be better to spend more money on the quality of education in schools and offer more government sponsored universities for Medicine if the government wants better healthcare.
Click to expand...

Noble really? Forcing someone to do something is not noble at all they could have given some incentives for people to work in unpopular areas and achieved much more.
 
this is good because here in serepta we dont have good docters so now I must go to dr van zyl who is there in the white area because he know his story and evans my grandma from summerville go to him
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X