Zuma signs law controlling where doctors may open practices

PRESIDENT Jacob Zuma has quietly signed into law sections of the National Health Act that can prevent doctors and other health professionals opening private practices where they choose to.

All health professionals – such as dentists, dieticians and physiotherapists – who wish to open a private practice or clinic will have to apply to the Department of Health for "a certificate of need" to permit them to work in their chosen suburb.

The certificate will be compulsory from April 2016.

For example, if a woman becomes a doctor and wants to join her doctor mother in the family practice, her mother will need government approval, according to Casper Venter, director of the Healthman consultancy.

Sections 36 to 40 of the National Health Act have existed for 10 years but were not signed into law until late last year. They came into effect in April, but health professionals have two years in which to acquire the certificate of need.

According to the act, the aim is to ensure an equitable spread of doctors and other health professionals across the country.

Healthcare workers could face up to five years in prison or a fine if they run a private practice without a certificate after April 2016.

SA Private Practitioners' Forum spokesman Chris Archer said: "It's an experiment in social engineering. It is destined to fail."

Health law consultant Elsabe Klinck said healthcare professionals need not panic.

"One of the criteria in the act is the financial viability of a practice – no one could force a practitioner to start a practice in an area where it would not be financially viable."

Health Department spokesman Joe Maila said a certificate of need would be linked to the building in which the professional worked. - Katharine Child