Durban - Sixteen employees have been placed under precautionary suspension based on findings of a Special Investigating Unit’s (SIU) investigation into corruption at the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA).
HPCSA spokesperson Priscilla Sekhonyana said the investigation was launched in 2019 and covered a four-year period from 2016 to 2019.
Sekhonyana said in the latest of several reports dated March 12, 2021, several employees were allegedly implicated in acts of corruption or bribery to expedite registration processes.
“As a result, 16 employees have been placed on precautionary suspension as part of the disciplinary processes, in line with the disciplinary codes and procedure in the HPCSA,” she said.
She further explained that President Cyril Ramaphosa had approved a request by the HPCSA to investigate any conduct of maladministration, corruption or corrupt activities, including fraud, in contravention of the Health Professions Act 56 of 1974.
The requirements on the HPCSA website state that registration with the council is a prerequisite for professional practice.
“Qualifying in any of the healthcare professions is an important personal responsibility and, as a practitioner, there are several legal obligations. It is also a legal requirement to keep all personal details up to date at all times.”
The registration division is responsible for the registration of all healthcare practitioners, including students, ahead of practising their respective professions.
The main categories of registration are students, interns, public/community service, supervised practice, independent practice, specialists and subspecialists.
The HPCSA annual report for the 2019/20 period said more than 30 000 healthcare practitioners were registered by the council during that period.
The report said registrations were conducted mainly at the head office in Pretoria, and to a limited extent at off-site registration venues.
Off-site registrations were targeted mainly at capturing the newly-qualified healthcare practitioners graduating from student status to other categories, including internship and community service.
The council said voluntary erasure from the register was possible if the practitioner does not intend to practice his/her profession in the country for a given period of time.
The report stated that during the 2019/20 period 58 practitioners were instructed to erase.
The SIU said it did not have any comment regarding this matter at the moment.
The Mercury