The SA Medical Association Trade Union (Samatu) says it has had no positive feedback on the wrongful suspension of healthcare practitioners by the Health Professions Council of SA (HPCSA) because of the late payment of annual fees.
It said neither Gauteng Health nor the HPCSA had given a satisfactory response since last month, when nearly 6 000 healthcare practitioners in both the private and public sectors were suspended by the statutory body for failure to pay their annual fees due for the financial year ending 31 March 2024.
News24 reports that according to a Gauteng Health Department memo dated 26 April 2023, the HPCSA deductions for public healthcare practitioners were supposed to be done that month. However, the department could only process the payments in May.
Department spokesperson Motalatale Modiba said of the 6 674 practitioners who were suspended, only 42 were linked to historical problems with the council, details of which he refused to disclose.
He insisted there was “clear and effective communication between the department and HPCSA”.
“The Gauteng Department of Health did not fail to facilitate the deductions; there was clear communication between the department, HPCSA and practitioners.”
Modiba refused to reveal the nature of that communication, while HPCSA spokesperson Christopher Tsatsawane also refused to reveal the exact number of suspended practitioners who are public healthcare workers, and the nature of the “historical problems” for which they could be suspended.
Samatu’s Sihlangu said an agreement was signed between the trade unions and the department stipulating that the annual fees would be processed through the Persal system and that this process would be overseen by the HPCSA and the employer.
He said the problem should not even exist whereby healthcare practitioners should have to pay restoration fees to overturn the suspensions.
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
HPCSA misconduct hearing for doctor with previous charges, suspensions
‘Self-serving’ HPCSA chief loses bid to overturn suspension over fraud and corruption charges
HPCSA persists in enforcing regulations declared ‘unlawful’