SAMA welcomes ruling that allows medical practitioners to choose where they work

JOHANNESBURG - The South African Medical Association (SAMA) has welcomed a ruling handed down by the High Court in Pretoria this week, scrapping the controversial Certificate of Need (CON) scheme for healthcare facilities.

The scheme is considered central to government's plans for National Health Insurance and would require the State to approve the locations of facilities.

It was first enacted in the National Health Act in 2005 but has yet to be brought into operation, with efforts to do so having been halted in 2014, after the Constitutional Court found, in essence, that the necessary regulatory infrastructure needed to be put in place first.

This week's ruling, in which the court found the scheme was not rational, comes on the back of a case brought by trade union Solidarity.

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The chairperson of SAMA, Dr Mvuyisi Mzukwa, said the scheme impacts doctors' rights to choose where they want to practice, among others.

"They think if you put a doctor in the rural areas it will solve the problems of the rural areas as if healthcare depends on the doctor alone because we know there are other issues we call socio-economic determinants of health, things that have not been resolved. They think they are just going to be pushing around healthcare professionals to solve their problems. It’s not going to happen," he said. 

Meanwhile, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has defended the scheme. 

He said countries across the globe use similar systems and that it's aimed at putting in place standards, as well as ensuring healthcare is provided where it's needed.