HPCSA protecting rights of patients and guarding against bogus doctors

The death of a baby girl has revealed the need for the community to know their right, as patients, to receive quality healthcare.
One-year-old Mbalienhle Matlou died after she was operated on by a local general practitioner (GP).
Daphney Chuma, the senior manager of public relations and service delivery at the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) brought a delegation to raise awareness to Chris Hani Hall in Sarafina last Thursday.
Chuma says the HPCSA inspectorate is currently working on the case of the GP who did Mbalienhle’s surgical operation. She could not elaborate, however, because the case is sub judice.
Mbalienhle died on 9 January after the doctor operated on her chest. Her mother still believes she died on the operating table, despite the doctor’s assistant assuring her that the baby would wake up later.
Chuma stressed that the HPCSA is there to protect the public, ensure that they receive the best healthcare services and that their lives are not put in danger.
‘It is our mandate to ensure that practitioners are registered with the council.
Those who practise without registering are committing a criminal offence and shall be prosecuted. We are seeing the emergence of bogus practitioners, masquerading as doctors, who are not registered. Some do not even possess any qualifications. We believe the community should know the people and, should they find any suspicious activities, they should contact us to bring these people to book.’
Chuma says there is a process to be followed when practitioners contravene the code of ethics of doctors. ‘Patients must first lodge a complaint. This may include being overcharged by the practitioners,’ she said.
Below is a list of some of the patient’s rights.
• Access to healthcare services that include receiving timely emergency care at any healthcare facility that is open, regardless of one’s ability to pay.
• Informed consent. Everyone has a right to be given full and accurate information about the nature of their illnesses, diagnostic procedures, the proposed treatment, the risks associated with it and the costs involved.
• A second opinion. Everyone has the right to be referred, on request, to a healthcare provider of one’s choice for a second opinion.
• Everyone has the right to complain about healthcare services, to have such complaints investigated and to receive a full response to such investigation.
On 22 February, the HPCSA collaborated with the J.B. Marks Municipality, Dr Kenneth Kaunda Municipality, the Department of Health, Potchefstroom Hospital, the Department of Social Development and the Road Accident Fund (RAF).
The event was more than an informative session as the community members also took advantage of HIV counselling and testing, diabetes testing, TB screening, hypertension