Dear Colleagues

In his valedictory speech at the WMA’s annual General Assembly Dr. David Barbe declared: “There are many physicians around the world who do not feel appreciated or supported for the risks they have taken or the sacrifices they have made in caring for patients with COVID. Many are demoralized. Many feel their governments, and, in some cases, their hospitals have let them down. Some feel taken for granted or even taken advantage of.”

As the pandemic continues to plague the world, we know that many of our members are overwhelmed and dealing with anxiety, fear and even resilience fatigue. Please know that help is at hand. SAMA is collaborating with PPS and the Reality wellness group to offer telephonic support and counselling. Contact the reality Wellness Group on: 080 11 22 550 or eppenage@realitywellness.co.za (Please provide your SAMA member number) SAMA and PPS obtain and share no data with Reality Wellness. The only information shared is the number of people who use Reality Wellness’s services

We are all aware of the economic impact the country experienced during COVID, and of the personal finance blow many doctors faced or are facing. In a recently hosted webinar on earning during the pandemic, especially in the context of the National Credit Act, we had a presentation from Mr Howard Gabriels, the Credit Ombud. This event was recorded and is available on the following link: https://www.samedical.org/about-us/podcast

You will recall the Compensation Fund publishing controversial new regulations that would have undermined the Parliamentary process of the COID Amendment Bill that took place earlier this year. The consequences of this could have had catastrophic prejudicial consequences for medical service and vulnerable injured workers. The parliamentary process removed a section which would prohibit the medical industry working through third party administrators to receive payments due to them for claims submitted for medical care of workers injured on duty. Despite this removal, the Compensation Fund, on 10 September, published regulations which effectively enforced the prohibition.

Consequently, SAMA, IWAG, as well as the National Employers Association of South Africa (NEASA), called for the immediate withdrawal of the controversial new regulations. We have been informed that the Office of the State Attorney has sent a letter indicating that the regulations published on 10 September will be withdrawn and that the notice will be gazetted within 30 days. I am including the link to an interesting radio programme where this was discussed https://omny.fm/shows/safm-sunrise-1/mediated-conversation-unpacking-the-compensation-1

In my previous communication I announced the special helpline establishment to provide access and assistance to Palliative Care information and access. For anyone whom required assistance relating to quality of care, supportive care or home care, it will be available as from the 1st of November 2021 between 09:00 and 16:00 on Tel: 012 940-2966.

In conclusion, the FDA is planning to allow Americans to receive a different Covid-19 vaccine as a booster from the one they initially received. SAMA believes that healthcare workers who received the initial J&J vaccine as part of the Sissonke trail, should also be offered the choice to receive the Pfizer vaccine booster if they choose. I would value your thoughts in this regard.

Until next time, stay safe.

Yours in solidarity,

Dr. Angelique Coetzee
SAMA: Chairperson

SAMA congratulates Prof Shabir Madhi and Prof Barry Schoub

The South African Medical Association (SAMA) congratulates the annual recipients of Gold Medals for outstanding achievement in scientific thinking to the benefit of society by the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), Prof Shabir Madhi and Prof Barry Schoub. The two pre-eminent scientists were bestowed with the honours at ASSAf’s annual awards ceremony held earlier this week.  

Prof Madhi is the Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) and Director of the South African Medical Research Council Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Analytics Research Unit (Wits VIDA). Prof Madhi has most recently been at the forefront of the fight of COVID-19, and has led the first two COVID-19 vaccine studies undertaken in Africa. He has also been involved in multiple epidemiological studies on COVID-19 in South Africa and through various forms of media.  

ASSAf recognised Prof Madhi’s immense contribution in educating the public about the virus.   

Prof Schoub was Director of the National Institute of Virology and created the National Institute for Communicable Diseases in 2002.  Prof Shoub was the founding Chair of the National Advisory Group on Immunisation of South Africa, served as initial Chair of the Polio Expert Committee, and led the scientific Board of the Poliomyelitis Research Foundation. Prof Schoub is currently the Chair of the Ministerial Advisory Committee on COVID-19 vaccines which is guiding South Africa’s vaccination programme.  

SAMA says the recognition to the two professors is not only well deserved but also important because of the enormous value each of them have added to the fight against COVID-19

Dear Branch Chairperson,

In my previous communication I noted that we need to remain vigilant in our efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19. I also urged you, as medical professionals, to encourage your families, friends, colleagues and patients to take every measure possible to protect themselves, including getting vaccinated. As I write this, our country stands at around 20% vaccination, which is a good start but not nearly good enough.

Experiences from around the world indicate that South Africa is on the verge of entering a fourth wave. In fact, in a recent article I read, the Actuarial Society of South Africa (ASSA) has warned that the country is in a race against time with the fourth wave of infections expected to hit South Africa in December and into January. This is a concerning development and means we cannot let our guard down in our fight against coronavirus. What this means is that we must maintain the strictest of protocols, and continue to advocate for vaccinations. If we are to win this fight, we have no choice but to be ultra-cautious in our dealings with each other and with patients, and we simply must set an example for others to follow.

In other news we are continuing our engagements with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) regarding the unbundling of the Medical and Dental Boards (MDB). There are many reasons why SAMA is in favour of such an approach which, by the way, was also a recommendation by a Ministerial Task Team under the leadership of Prof Mayosi. Our view is that medical professions require their own independent councils and that such a move is urgently needed. Discussions around this proposal are ongoing, and I will, naturally, keep you posted as developments unfold.

One of my first goals as the new CEO is to ensure the strategy we implemented aligns with all aspects of our business. As you are all aware, our strategy rests on four pillars: growing membership, amplifying the brand, enhancing member value, and forging strategic partnerships. We have already achieved significant successes since the adoption of the strategy but it’s important that we maintain this momentum. As we move into 2022, it will be our mission to build on these successes but also, critically, to ensure the sustainability of the association. We will do this by making sure all our activities and plans are linked and aligned to our strategy and the four pillars. In this way we are able to map our future against an effective metric which can evaluate our successes. We have, we believe, an incredibly important framework to maximise our business and service our members. It’s a plan in which we have placed our trust and I, for one, am extremely excited about the future.

With the relaxation in the lockdown regulations our Member Engagement Department has commenced with hospital visits, and engagement with our members on the ground.  We hope to revive the physical CPD events at hospitals and interacting more frequently with our members in their workplace. We believe this will enable our members, who do not always have the time, to directly connect with relevant SAMA staff, and at the same time address any of their concerns. Through this direct ‘outreach’ we hope to also physically reach our members situated in more rural regions; we did this in the past, and we hope to re-establish these relationships.

SAMA’s Employee Relations Department has also been busy; they visited several hospitals in Gauteng, the North West and in the Eastern Cape interacting with members there on issues affecting them. More such visits are planned for the coming months and into 2022 (yes, can you believe we are almost there?).  The ER Department has also been involved in meetings with the National Department of Health (NDoH) on matters such as Remunerative Work Outside of Public Service (RWOPS), and safety and staffing issues. The ER Department has also spent considerable time fighting on several fronts on behalf of doctors in terms of payment of overdue salaries, unblocking of PERSAL, and in disciplinary hearings. The work of this department is extremely important, and these are the type of interventions we believe form a critical component of our servicing offer to members.

In addition, all members would have received a communication from the HPCSA regarding the online portal created for CPD certificates and other self-help options being provided.  Our members making use of the MPC platform will currently still be able to use this as the HPCSA and the MPC platforms will be interlinked to supply the added service to them.  The way forward on this will be communicated to members in due course.

Currently SAMA is increasing our focus and activities on SAMA Student Membership. Students receive free SAMA membership from their first year of study. As a forward-thinking association, we believe the future of our organisation and profession depends on developing and mentoring our future leaders to ensure and develop healthcare in South Africa.

We are nearing the end of 2021 and, like 2020, it was a challenging year. We have faced many obstacles both personally and professionally and I have no doubt that we will be faced with similar challenges in the new year. Ours is not to predict the future, but we can plan for it. In this regard SAMA’s plans are well-established, and we have created an environment which will ensure we are successful in their implementation. While I am confident about our approach and the key role SAMA continues to play in society on behalf of its members, I remain concerned about the national health picture, especially in relation to COVID-19 and our responses to it. As representatives of the country’s largest medical association, we must do all we can to ensure the health of our nation. We are leaders in society, and we must not forget it is our obligation to honour that leadership role.

Until next time, stay safe, stay positive and stay committed.

 Yours,

Dr Vusumuzi Nhlapho
MSc BA MBBCh ACBOM DOccMed
Chief Executive Officer
The South African Medical Association

South Africa is so overburdened by physical illnesses that mental health continues to take a backseat

Speaking during the national dialogue on mental health on Monday, Bharti Patel of the South African Federation of Mental Health, said that studies show that less than 1 in ten South Africans living with mental health conditions receive the care they need.

South Africa is looking at rolling out booster shots. Here’s why

Nine months after just under half a million healthcare workers in South Africa were vaccinated with one shot of Johnson & Johnson (J&J) in the country’s Sisonke implementation trial, they’re likely to get a second shot of the same vaccine in a new leg of the study.

Medical aids are going through drastic changes in South Africa – and the NHI is speeding things up

The South African private healthcare industry has undergone considerable change over the past few years. Escalating healthcare inflation and costs, a declining and ageing membership, the impact of a global pandemic and a growing disease burden are impacting the not-for-profit Medical Scheme industry, which is highly regulated.

South Africa to introduce R100 vouchers and other incentives for people to get vaccinated

The Department of Health is working alongside business partners to introduce a number of new incentives to encourage South Africans to vaccinate, including R100 vouchers. Department spokesperson Foster Mohale said these incentives form part of an ongoing partnership with the country’s business sector and would not be directly funded by the government.

Health Department, pharmacies at odds over vaccine payments for services provided

DURBAN - THE Independent Community Pharmacy Association South Africa (ICPA) has said the Health Department has been slow to reimburse pharmacies for services rendered during the National Vaccine Rollout Programme.

Good news for South Africans travelling to the US

The US has published new rules for travellers, removing its country-by-country travel restrictions and instead introducing international restrictions based on the vaccination status of individual travellers. The procedures replace a system that essentially blocked most foreign nationals travelling directly from major markets, South Africa.

The South African Medical Association - Postal Address-The South African Medical Association P O Box 74789,Lynnwood Ridge Pretoria 0040, South Africa
Physical address The South African Medical Association, Block F Castle Walk Corporate Park Nossob Street Erasmuskloof Ext3 Pretoria 0181, South Africa www.samedical.org

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