Special Hearings — Health Sector Hearings — 1997-06-18

ETHEL RADEBE: Chairperson just on that point.  We have heard today, from yesterday, that in the health system there was a sort of a relationship and a link in the way in which human violations were done on the patients.  This link was not only basically facing the nurse, the psychologist or anybody or the doctor, it was also the question that some nurses became aware of these abuses but because of the linkage in the system between the professional organisations, councils, it was very difficult for the nurse to come forward with these abuses.  Like we don't have a tangible project to say we have in the Council as part of a healing.
 But another way that prevented nurses from reporting these violations was the mechanism, a system of management in the hospitals.  That is why now in our recommendation, part of what we are doing as part of transformation is to have the Council accessible to all nurses from the ground and up to national so that the nurse herself is able to directly get in touch with the Council for whatever violations that could be there, without working through the mechanism of authorities within institutions like superintendents and nursing managers.  The Council is now accessible to the nurse.  There is communication that is on the ground.  The Council has opened up issues with professional organisations like unions so that these organisations, together with the nurses and the Council, should be aware and if they are aware they know that there is a forum for them to report these violations. 
 So there is a concerted effort from the Council to be more open than before to work issues together, although in the true sense we haven't got on the ground an idea of a project for healing of the nurses themselves, but we have opened up a line to communicate directly with the Council. Thank you.

ADV POTGIETER: Chair thank you very much for being so indulgent this morning.  Can I just ask, noting your reference to the approach of your predecessor to professional conduct issues as near militaristic and also noting your apology to those who may have suffered as a result of the actions taken by your predecessor, are you possibly engaged in a process of trying to identify cases where disciplinary action against nurses was unjust in nature, which would amount, as we understand it today as violation of human rights because it was political in nature, because it was racist?   And are you taking steps to set those cases straight if those do exist?
 And then secondly, are you aware of any prosecutions in terms of Section 49 where it was a criminal offence for a white nurse to be put under supervision of a nurse belonging to another race group?

FRANK GERMISHUIZEN: Chairperson could I start with the last question.  We're not aware of any prosecutions having taken place but that does not mean to say there weren't any.
 Your first question doesn't have an easy answer.  The Council's Professional Conduct hearings have always been open to the public and in fact up until fairly recently invitations were even sent out to training schools and to hospitals.  Nurses have always been allowed to have legal representation even though obviously many of them could not afford so. So that the actual hearings, the transcripts of the hearings, I don't think would indicate the Council acted against somebody on racial grounds.  Again I'm not saying that individual members of the old disciplinary committees weren't biased in their own way but it 's certainly in the 15 years that I've been with the Council they never came through as such and if it had I wouldn't have stayed 15 years.
 It's an interesting thought that you suggest that one does research into the past to see if nurses' rights have been violated in any way and then to see in what way reparation can be made to them by the Council.

ADV POTGIETER: Should you not invite nurses who have complaints of that nature to come forward to you, for you to look into those and to see what you can do to set it straight?

FRANK GERMISHUIZEN: Yes we're now, the Interim Council also instituted a Newsletter for the first time which now goes out to - it will on  basis of three times a year be posted to every individual nurse in the country. So we can certainly thank you for that suggestion.

ADV POTGIETER: Thank you very much.

FRANK GERMISHUIZEN: Thank you Chairperson.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you ladies and gentlemen.  Can I say, I seem not to have stuck to my words that I started off with which is that we're going to stick to time.  I want to appeal to my fellow Commissioners on the panel that they restrict their questions or that they send questions to organisations so that they'll be able to answer in writing.  So please, I'm going to actually stop further questions.  I know Professor Simpson was not here earlier on, so I'm going to actually repeat what I said.
 All the groupings that are now presenting will have only 15 minutes to present, so can I please ask Janet to come along.  I'm afraid if you're thirsty you may as well start walking out now and get a glass of water.  I'm not allowing a tea break, you'll have to wait until lunch.  Thank you.
ABUSES IN RURAL PRACTICE

CHAIRPERSON: Janet welcome, will you please introduce yourself.

JANET GIDDY: This submission is on behalf of myself and my husband Steve Reed and we are two doctors who worked at the Bethesda Hospital which is 250 bed rural hospital in Maputoland which is in North East KwaZulu Natal up near Swaziland and Mozambique.

CHAIRPERSON: Can I just stop you and can I ask, Denzil will you assist.

ADV POTGIETER: Only with pleasure Chair.

JANET GIDDY: (sworn states)