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HPCSA plagued by mismanagement, unfairly punishing doctors

Details

hpcsaNews24 reports that the Competition Commission has confirmed that for 12 years, illegal and anti-competitive behaviour has engulfed the Health Professions Council of SA (HPCSA).

Moreover, the SA Medical Association (SAMA) has accused the national health department of not implementing a October 2015 report that found that the statutory body was rife with mismanagement and maladministration. The illegality at the HPCSA followed the Competition Commission's 2011 rejection of the council's application to exempt 10 ethical rules that were found to contravene the Competition Act. But the HPCSA has continued to punish health workers, mainly doctors, with fines of up to R60,000 for practitioners who have breached the council's unlawful regulations. According to SAMA chairperson Dr Mvuyisi Mzukwa, former health ministers Aaron Motsoaledi and Zweli Mkhize – as well as current Health Minister Joe Phaahla – ignored his association's repeated pleas for the implementation of the October 2015 report. Competition Commission spokesperson Siya Makhunga confirmed that the HPCSA was still implementing its anti-competitive rules that breached the Competition Act and indicated that the commission had tried since 2011 to "facilitate the amendment of the [regulations] to achieve competitive outcomes". News24 sourced a list of 17 doctors who were charged and found guilty based on the illegal rules. The National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union (Nehawu) said it had been at the "forefront" in calling for the 2015 report to be implemented. Nehawu spokesperson Lwazi Nkolonzi said the report's recommendation had been implemented, without elaborating further. According to the NHI Bill that the National Assembly passed in June, the council will be responsible for the registration and accreditation of all health workers should the single-fund system be enacted.

  • Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Khaya Koko at News24 (subscriber access only)


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