Committed to promoting quality healthcare for all South Africans, the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) is mandated to protect the public and guide the professions. The HPCSA, through its mandate, is also responsible for regulating the health professions in the country in aspects pertaining to education, training and registration, professional conduct and ethical behaviour. Over and above, the regulatory body must ensure that healthcare practitioners are fit to practise their profession free from any physical or mental impairment.
The HPCSA is established by Section 2 of the Health Professions Act, 1974 (Act No. 56 of 1974) as a juristic person. This means that it is a creature of statute, and it can only exercise its powers and functions as contained in the act and it articulates the objects as well as the general powers of the Council. The Council plays an oversight, advisory as well as a co-ordinating, role for the HPCSA while also mandated to be the central conduit for communication. Over and above the responsibility of overseeing the 12 Professional Boards in the health professions sector, the Council also assumes an oversight role regarding the implementation of the strategic policy relating to the various professions falling within its domain.
Professor Mbulaheni Simon Nemutandani, president of the HPCSA, highlights the Council’s bold and clear plan, which is intended to steer the organisation to be among one of the leading health regulatory bodies in the world.
“As the Council, our main responsibility is to ensure that the Professional Boards are fully equipped in terms of resources and can carry out their duties including the development of the five-year strategic plan and providing a framework for the council’s performance,” he says.
HPCSA President Prof. Mbulaheni Simon Nemutandani
“In addition, the HPCSA in conjunction with the secretariat and the Professional Boards advises the Minister of Health on pertinent issues in the health sector.
“My aim as president is to position the HPCSA as a progressive regulator within the healthcare sector; to ensure that we are on track with our set objectives and continue to engage our various stakeholders for the benefit of the healthcare practitioners and the public at large in terms of addressing our immediate challenges.
“To facilitate the delivery of our strategic goals, we are committed to growing a deep service culture across the Health Professions Council of South Africa, to delivering excellence within an enabling environment, and providing quality service to our healthcare practitioners. The Council has also moved to online services to ensure that the HPCSA becomes an effective and efficient regulatory body.”
Some registered practitioners are already enjoying interaction with the online platform for various services, such as the renewal of annual registrations, submission of registration applications, making online payment transactions, and uploading of CPD certificates.
Nemutandani is on a mission to improve the business model to enhance the functioning of the HPCSA, and to improve its role as an advocate and advisor through enhanced engagement with all key stakeholders. He wants to make it a point that organisational effectiveness and efficiencies are provided to and by the Council, Professional Boards and secretariat, and that there is consistency and alignment applied across the Council and its Professional Boards.
Through its inspectorate office, the Council ensures that healthcare practitioners are aware that practising while not registered with the Council is a criminal offence. Healthcare practitioners must be registered with the Council and comply with the provisions of the Health Professions Act, 1974, as well as all rules and regulations governing their professions.
Dr Simpiwe Sobuwa-HPCSA Vice President
The inspectorate office, as a law enforcement and compliance unit, is mandated to enforce compliance through conducting inspections of registered practitioners and the investigation of illegal practices by unregistered persons.
The inspectors appointed in the inspectorate office conduct inspections at the practices of the registered practitioners, including those who are suspended or removed from the registers, to ensure compliance with sanctions imposed by professional misconduct committees and that they do not practise while under suspension or erased.
The inspectorate office is operational at the Council’s head office in Pretoria and also in three regional offices in Durban, East London and Cape Town. Members of the public will still be able reach the HPCSA through the call centre or use the iRegister on the council website to search for practitioners, to see if they are active and registered with the HPCSA.
ABOUT PROFESSOR MBULAHENI SIMON NEMUTANDANI
Professor Nemutandani is a renowned leader with a wealth of knowledge and experience in the healthcare profession. Over the years, Nemutandani has shown commitment among the various medical regulatory authorities as a basis on which to benchmark good practice, and ensure patient safety.
Nemutandani qualified as a dentist from the University of Western Cape approximately 30 years ago. He holds three master’s degrees in public health from the University of Venda, a master’s of science in medicine and a specialist in community dentistry from the University of Witwatersrand, and a PhD in public health from the University of Pretoria. His research interests are on health systems, policy and traditional medicine, and HIV.
He is the head and CEO of the School of Oral Health Sciences at the University of Witwatersrand. He is also the chairperson of the Association of Deans of Dental Schools in Southern Africa. He explored a de-colonisation model for collaboration between indigenous and Western-trained health providers in post-colonial South Africa. In his role as a policy and public oral health specialist, he has been instrumental in developing the South African Oral Health Policy, providing advice on oral health matters to national and provincial governments in South Africa.
THE HPCSA ENHANCES ITS ONLINE PORTAL FOR A BETTER AND EFFECTIVE SERVICE
The HPCSA is currently enhancing its online platform, which is aimed at ensuring that it upholds its mandate and becomes a more effective and efficient regulatory body. The first phase of the enhancement project focuses on the improvements that will assist the HPCSA to manage complaints related to registered practitioners and unregistered persons posing as registered practitioners. The highlights of the first phase include the following:
Complaints handling, investigation and inspectorate
The online complaints management system will enable members of the public and practitioners to:
- Lodge and respond to complaints
- Engage with the council on various issues relating to a complaint
- Track cases with ease.
Professional practice
Practitioners are now able to submit enquiries and/or upload the required evidence of CPD compliance on the online portal. CPD accreditors are also able to submit documentation for uploading onto the portal in bulk.
Finance
The platform enables practitioners to view, retrieve and download their invoices and statements at any given time to avoid waiting to be sent the invoice via email or post. Any payment can be made on the online portal and the proof of payment can also be uploaded on the platform.
This is an efficient platform to communicate and request the required service with ease. Therefore, to eliminate any delays, practitioners and members of the public are encouraged to utilise the platform on https://hpcsaonline.custhelp.com.
Contact details
+27 (0)12 338 9300/1
www.hpcsa.co.za
