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HPC to review HIV charges
The Citizen
2001-02-09

The Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPC) is to review all charges brought against doctors for testing patients for HIV without consent or counselling and disclosing the results to people other than the patients, it revealed on Wednesday.

The Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPC) is to review all charges brought against doctors for testing patients for HIV without consent or counselling and disclosing the results to people other than the patients, it revealed on Wednesday. 

The HPC stands accused of not acting against any doctor accused of improper ethical conduct in 28 cases referred to it since 1996, despite payment of substantial settlements after court hearings.  The AIDS Law Project (ALP) of the Centre for Applied Legal Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand intended taking High Court action in the next month to force the HPC to reveal its reasons for inaction in three matters, said attorney Anita Kleinsmidt. 

Calling for an investigation by the Public Protector, the AIDS Consortium said the issue highlighted a lack of training and implementation of HPC guidelines on HIV/AIDS, and a lack of understanding of treatment of people with HIV/AIDS, and stigmatisation of victims.  Under HPC guidelines, testing can be done only with consent and pre- and post-test counselling. Confidentiality is absolute, unless a patient consents to disclosure, or a practitioner is convinced the patient's activities will endanger someone else's health. Should a patient refuse to disclose their status to this person even after additional counselling, the practitioner could do so and the HPC would not act against him. 

Doctors who did not comply faced cautionary reprimand, fines of up to R10 000 per charge, temporary suspension from practising or erasure from the medical register. 
(Source: The Citizen, 08/02/01)

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