The Health Professions Council of South Africas (HPCSA) has struck off more than 1 300 medical practitioners in KwaZulu-Natal from its register.
More than 1 300 medical practitioners in KwaZulu-Natal have been struck off the Health Professions Council of South Africa’s (HPCSA) register and are no longer permitted to practise.
Among the professionals are 118 medical practitioners and six dentists.
The council made the announcement yesterday after the practitioners failed to pay their annual fees by the April 1 deadline, despite its exhausting all avenues of communication, including letters, telephone calls, SMSes and notification via professional associations.
Council spokeswoman Bertha Peters-Scheepers said yesterday that the Health Professions Act made it a criminal offence to practise when suspended or erased from the register.
Nationally, almost 10 000 professionals were suspended, including 1 500 medical and dental practitioners, more than 6 500 emergency care practitioners and almost 600 psychologists.
In KZN, 1 371 health professionals were suspended, including:
* 118 medical practitioners;
* 6 dentists;
* 874 basic ambulance assistants;
* 17 psychologists;
* 20 radiographers;
* 14 medical technologists;
* 6 optometrists;
* 10 occupational therapists
* 28 environmental health practitioners.
The annual registration fees range from R526 for basic ambulance assistants to R1 511 for psychologists.
“Practitioners are required to pay their annual fees on or before April 1 of every year. The money is used by the council to act on its mandate of protecting the public and guiding the professions,” Peters-Scheepers said.
“In order for the HPCSA to execute [this] mandate… only registered health-care practitioners may treat the public… It is a criminal offence to treat the public whilst not registered with the HPCSA.”
Suspended practitioners are able to have their names restored to the register after they make an application and pay a restoration fee, which increases up to five times the applicable amount, depending on how long the application is made after the erasure date.
They will also be liable for their outstanding fees.
As it is illegal to practise once deregistered, Peters-Scheepers said the council would take disciplinary action against those found to be defying the act.
* Patients who want to check whether their practitioner is registered can visit the website http://iregister.hpcsa.co.za/ or phone the council’s contact centre at 012 3389 301.
