Don't get sick

Medics must pay up, or else...
03/10/2007 22:21 - (SA)

Bloemfontein - Thousands of health practitioners from across the health sector have been removed from the rolls of their respective professional bodies, the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) said on Wednesday.

Council spokesperson Tendai Dhliwayo said the HPCSA recently erased 9 440 health workers countrywide who failed to pay their annual dues.

Dhliwayo said: "Though April 1 of every year is the deadline for practitioners to pay, the HPCSA this year gave its practitioners a three months grace period to pay before erasures occurred. "

The council had 125 074 healthcare practitioners registered and practitioners could not perform their duties if they were not registered.

Could re-apply to get names back on rolls

Dhliwayo said the council realised there was a shortage of healthcare personnel.

"The council has embraced a more accommodating stance than a reactive one to give every practitioner room to pay up."

Those practitioners who were erased could re-apply to get their names back on the rolls after paying the relevant penalties and the outstanding fees.

The Northern Cape and Eastern Cape regions recorded the least number of practitioners erased due to non-payment of their annual fees this year.

The Northern Cape lost 215 out of 2 823 and and the Eastern Cape 564 out of 7 470 registered practitioners.

Gauteng were the hardest hit as it lost 2 850 out of 42 746 and KwaZulu-Natal 1 933 out of 22 296 practitioners.
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Again, for those not in SA, the health industry is in shambles. Getting sent to a govt hospital is a trasumatic experience, and most likely a deadly one too.

We are importing cuban doctors. We have a common thief and alcoholic as a health minister. And our doctors have an annual fee to pay. If you don't pay, you're not a doctor anymore. This despite the fact that we had some of the best medical training institutions in the world.

A friend who recently qualified has been keeping us up to date over the years. 18 hour days, very unsafe and unsaitary conditions. Years worth of community service, and absolutely unforgivable salaries. Then, once they qualify, they have additional fees to pay. No wonder they're all leaving. Surely once a person has become a doctor, they are a doctor for life? I mean, short of malpractice, what invalidates such intense training and knowledge?

These doctors cannot just set up a practice. They have to apply. Then there is the legislation regarding pharmeceuticals, and the dispensing fees. They are completely monitored controlled and in effect, fucked over.

It makes me sick.