3 February 2023

The SA Medical Association (SAMA) strongly condemns the murder charge against Professor Peter Beale. SAMA believes that medical doctors pledge to first do no harm. The association also believes that no doctor intentionally plans to commit murder. Professor Beale voluntarily removed his name from the Health Professions Council of SA (HPCSA) register. His trial has dragged on unacceptably long despite a previous ruling that no further postponements would be tolerated.

The case of a murder charge against Prof Beale has created a dangerous precedent. This treatment of Prof Beale by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) is nothing but a case of ongoing victimisation. It will likely be four years before this case is finally heard. The association cannot remain silent as doctors are subjected to trial by media, whilst simultaneously being denied the chance to defend themselves in court due to endless delays in the justice system.

SAMA questions the appropriateness of a murder charge in any instance of alleged medical negligence and, even more so, in complex treatment situations where multiple causal factors come into play. This is all-too-frequently the situation in specialist medicine and it is precisely due to this reason that inquests and HPCSA hearings call upon panels of experts to determine if any negligence exists.

Doctors should not be victimised due to failure of those systems. Our fears are that the current scenario will encourage the avoidance of any potentially high-risk patient management, exposing those patients to a possible treatment void. It will also discourage young people from entering medical practice, especially any of the high-risk specialties. This can further compound the severe shortage of medical doctors in South Africa.

SAMA believes in a mediated solution to the issues of medical errors. Doctors are human and the association supports an alternative dispute resolution mechanism. SAMA recommends that a specialised medical court be established in which trained medical practitioners would be called to scrutinise decisions made by doctors.

ENDS