25 000 healthcare professionals will also not sign President’s Health Compact

About 25,000 healthcare professionals will also not sign the Presidential Health Compact, saying it is nothing more than an attempt to lock in support for the National Health Insurance (NHI). Business Unity South Africa and the South African Medical Association already indicated that they will also not sign the current version of the Compact.

The South African Health Professionals Collaboration (SAHPC), a national group of nine medical, dental and allied healthcare practitioners’ associations representing more than 25,000 dedicated private and public sector healthcare workers, said today that it will not be signing the Presidential Health Compact.

While the SAHPC acknowledges that health reforms are necessary to address the challenges in the country’s healthcare system, it believes the way that the Health Compact has been written is fundamentally biased towards solidifying support for the National Health Insurance (NHI) Act as the sole solution to achieving universal health coverage, Simon Strachan, a spokesperson for the SAHPC, says.

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Heavy focus on NHI not acceptable

“The Health Compact focuses heavily on the NHI, presenting it as the only viable option for the country, which we do not accept. Health professionals, including general practitioners, specialists, dentists and allied workers, are the cornerstone of health provision in this country. 

“Our primary concern is and always will be the well-being of patients. We do not believe that the NHI is a viable or workable model for achieving universal health coverage. Our numerous proposals and concerns have not been acknowledged.”

Strachan says what is needed is urgent formal engagement with the President on the NHI and ways of achieving universal health coverage to ensure health reform is fit for purpose and truly benefits patients, the economy and the country. “It is important that health reforms are developed in partnership with all those that are mandated to deliver this critical service.” 

The members of SAHPC are the South African Private Practitioners Forum (SAPPF), South African Medical Association (SAMA), Federation of South African Surgeons (FoSAS), South African Dental Association (SADA), South African Society of Anaesthesiologists (SASA), Unity Forum of Family Practitioners (UFFP),  South African Orthopaedic Association  (SAOA), South African Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (SASOG) and the Radiological Society of South Africa (RSSA).

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Concern about the current NHI model

Cas Coovadia, CEO of Business Unity South Africa (Busa), earlier said the current version of the Health Compact does not incorporate the views that it put on the table in April this year and that it also includes significant references to the NHI Act.

“The draft of the Compact that was shared with Busa promotes the NHI in its current form as the foundation underpinning healthcare reform. Busa does not agree with this given the serious differences between us and government about the appropriateness of the NHI Act, let alone its feasibility as a legislative instrument to underpin universal health coverage.”

Dr Mzulungile Nodikida, CEO of SAMA, said SAMA fully supports the overarching goals in the Presidential Health Compact, which emphasises strengthening the health system, enhancing health infrastructure and the equitable distribution of healthcare resources.

“However, SAMA has serious concerns about the current National Health Insurance (NHI) model as the primary vehicle for achieving these goals. While we share government’s commitment to universal health care, we believe that the NHI, in its current form, may not adequately address the complexities of our health system and could inadvertently lead to unintended consequences that compromise both the public and private healthcare sectors.”