WARNING: This is Version 1 of my old archive, so Photos will NOT work and many links will NOT work. But you can find articles by searching on the Titles. There is a lot of information in this archive. Use the SEARCH BAR at the top right. Prior to December 2012; I was a pro-Christian type of Conservative. I was unaware of the mass of Jewish lies in history, especially the lies regarding WW2 and Hitler. So in here you will find pro-Jewish and pro-Israel material. I was definitely WRONG about the Boeremag and Janusz Walus. They were for real.
Original Post Date: 2003-11-20 Posted By: Jan
From the News Archives of: WWW.AfricanCrisis.Org
Date & Time Posted: 11/20/2003 6:38:19 AM
S.Africa: The End of Private Medical Practise as we know it
[Note. Government medical services in SA have collapsed in the last 10 years. Eventually they had to meddle with the only thing that does work – Private Medicine. Jan]
Cape Town “ THE SOUTH African Medical Association has slammed Parliaments adoption of the controversial National Health Bill.
In a statement yesterday, Sama, which represents more than 16 000 doctors, said it was extremely disappointed at the easy acceptance and approval of the bill by the National Council of Provinces on Tuesday.
The bill was approved by the National Assembly in September and all that remains now is for President Thabo Mbeki to sign it into law.
There has been an outcry from the medical profession over the legislations requirement for doctors to apply for a certificate of need, which amounts to a licence to practice in a specific area.
Sama chairman Dr Kgosi Letlape said yesterday: The licensing of private practices signifies the end of private medical practice as we have known it.
The disastrous implications of this bill on the future of thousands of practicing medical doctors are too horrific to contemplate, he said.
Doctors who had dedicated their lives to serve the people in a particular community could now be told to pack their bags and move on if they failed to obtain a certificate. Newly qualified doctors would just move out of the country, Dr Letlape predicted.
South Africa needs a free private sector and a vibrant, well-resourced public sector that both patients and doctors will choose to use. In a post-apartheid South Africa, every citizen must be able to choose where they live and work.
If the governments intention is to draw doctors to the public sector, we expect them to create proper facilities enabling doctors to treat patients, more attractive working conditions, and appropriate remuneration.
Forcing doctors from private practice through unfavourable legislation is not what a democratic government should be doing, Dr Letlape said.
In terms of the bill, general practitioners will have to obtain a certificate of need. The certificate is granted and lapses when the individual dies or leaves the practice for whatever reason.
The health departments director- general will issue certificates of need “ valid for a maximum of 10 years “ on the basis of a host of criteria.
Speaking in the National Council of Provinces on Tuesday, Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang said the certificate provisions are the tools by which we intend to address the inequitable distribution of health services over time.
The bill allowed for regulatory distinctions to be made between health professionals with established practices or existing health establishments and those setting up new practices or establishments after the bill became law, Dr Tshabalala-Msimang said.
It is not our intention, after the act comes into effect, to immediately order existing medical practices and other health establishments to close down and to relocate to a place of the states choosing, she said.
Source: The Herald
URL: http://www.theherald.co.za/herald/2003/11/20/…br>