News
Published:10 January 2025
SUBMISSION GUIDELINE FOR SA FAMILY PRACTICE JOURNAL
The South African Family Practice (SAFP) journal is the official journal of the South African Academy of Family Physicians (SAAFP) and is aimed at all SAAFP members (including family physicians, registrars, associate members, students), working within primary care (both private and public health sectors, as well as urban and rural practice settings) within South Africa and the wider Southern African region.
SAFP is a peer-reviewed scientific journal, which strives to provide primary care teams, as well as researchers, with a broad range of scholarly work in the practice, training and learning of family medicine, primary care, primary health care, rural medicine, district health and other related fields.
Employment Type: Permanent
Reference No: MHS253/2024
Retreat Community Health Centre, Chief Directorate: Metro Health Services
Published: 25 October 2024
SUSPENSION OF HEALTH PRACTITIONERS REGISTERED WITH THE HPCSA FOR CPD NON-COMPLIANCE
“Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is the responsibility of every registered health practitioner, which is a constant requirement to ensure continued competency relevance in health care delivery. The CPD programme assists registered health practitioners to document the ongoing development of relevant professional skills, knowledge and experiences attained beyond initial training, gained both formally and
informally as health practitioners practice their professions.
The Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) is legislatively required to ensure that health practitioners always remain CPD compliant, as contained in section 26 of the Health Professions Act, 1974 (Act No. 56 of 1974). CPD compliance is therefore mandatory by law, for all health practitioners registered with the HPCSA. CPD compliance is critical for quality and good health care provision, thereby ensuring that the public always remains protected.”
Please note that applications will only be accepted if submitted via the online portal at: www.westerncape.gov.za/health-jobs
| NOTICE TO ALL | ||
Candidates may be subjected to a competency test. No payment of any kind is required when applying for this post. As directed by the Department of Public Service and Administration, applicants must note that further checks will be conducted once they are shortlisted and that their appointment is subject to positive outcomes on these checks, which include security clearance, qualification verification, criminal records and previous employment.
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| Closing date: 11/8/2024 12:00:00 AM | ||
Published: 14/10/2024
From the President’s desk
Highlights from the 26th Annual South African Academy of Family Physicians Congress
The 26th Annual South African Academy of Family Physicians (SAAFP) Congress took place from 7 to 8 September 2024 at the Protea Breakwater Lodge in Cape Town. The conference was attended by 170 delegates, 40 speakers. 20 exhibition stands [sponsors and non-sponsors.],
The theme was “Family Medicine Strengthens PHC—Creating Opportunities from Adversity”, and the congress was co-organised by the University of Cape Town and the University of Limpopo, with support from Stellenbosch University and the SAAFP Specialist Family Physicians in Private forum. We focused on “Respect, dignity and compassion—from the cradle to the grave.” This year’s congress brought together family physicians, registrars, and healthcare professionals from across the country to explore critical issues in primary healthcare and family medicine.
Published: 02/05/2024
From the President’s desk [Prof Tasleem Ras]
It’s been a very busy time for the SA Academy of Family Physicians. This being my first quarterly President’s Report, there are few pertinent issues that I’d like to focus on.
Our previous President, Prof Andrew Ross, a stalwart of the national family medicine community and longtime UKZN academic, stepped away from his role in the SAAFP Executive due to an ongoing health challenge. Andrew is a quiet and passionate leader, who seems to be tireless in the pursuit of restorative justice and social harmony. Testimony to this commitment was him being awarded the Order of Baobab by the President of the Republic of South Africa in 2015 for his valuable contribution to the development of rural youth. We pray for the best possible outcome as Andrew embarks on the next phase of his therapeutic journey, and hope that his wise counsel will guide the Academy for many years to come.
The annual national Family Physicians’ conference, one of the Academy’s flag-bearing events, was successfully held at the iconic Cape Town Waterfront in September. While the weather was cold outside, the pre-conference workshops focusing on ultrasound and research training, and the richly diverse programme schedule ensured that participants who attended were never left wishing they were elsewhere. Particularly encouraging was the active participation of registrars from across the country, and in a first for this conference, two UCT registrars, Carlota Sekhokoane and Chrystal Johnson, co-hosted a splendid gala dinner. Some key reflections coming from the conference included ensuring financial sustainability of future conferences, possibly expanding the scope of the conference to include other members of primary health care teams, and ongoing engagement with key decision-makers as part of the Academy’s advocacy. These lessons are going to be extremely pertinent as we start the planning process for hosting the World WONCA conference in Cape Town in 2027!
The Academy has long engaged with advocacy, which has focused on ensuring that Family Physicians are recognised within the systems in which they work, both public and private. The growing private practitioners’ forum has made significant inroads in their deliberations with healthcare funders in ensuring that Family Physicians are appropriately remunerated as specialists. Additionally, they will provide mentoring to emerging FPs who are planning to enter private practice. Within the public sector, members of the Academy have engaged with the national and provincial departments of health, contributing to conversations around health system strengthening and human resources for health.
Ensuring the financial sustainability of the Academy will be a priority of my tenure, as it has been a priority of my predecessors. This organisation is too important as the official voice of FPs in SA and globally to succumb to the financial woes that currently beset our economy. A simple way to mitigate this risk is to enhance our paid-up membership. If half the registered FPs on the HPCSA register were full members, our financial sustainability would be guaranteed. This is an objective that could be met but will need our collective efforts to convince colleagues and friends to register and pay their membership fees. Which leads me to my final point, the value that the Academy offers to its members.
While the Academy has been offering a number of resources to its membership for quite some time now, it is important for us to self-reflect and ask whether these offerings indeed add value to the professional lives of our members. A recent national membership survey had such a poor response rate that the results cannot be meaningfully interpreted, except to question the reasons for the low levels of engagement. This is definitely an area that needs more robust exploration.
Our successes in the last quarter, despite some serious organisational and personal challenges, indicates that the SAAFP is robust and resilient in its ability to respond to these challenges. I know that the Executive can count on the support of all members as we chart our way into 2025, and beyond.
Please note that applications will only be accepted if submitted via the online portal at: www.westerncape.gov.za/health-jobs
The registrar post application must also be made online with Stellenbosch university by the same deadline date using the following link: https://www.sun.ac.za/english/pgstudies
Attached are helpful documents related to the MMED registrar application. Further information about the MMED programme can be found on https://www.sun.ac.za/english/faculty/healthsciences/Family%20Medicine%20and%20Primary%20Care/Pages/Postgraduate.aspx The two posts are funded by the UCT-secured Healthy Futures Grant with a focus on strengthening COPC, UHC, youth development and entrepreneurship.
Faircape Health Tokai Estate is a Sub Acute Care and Rehabilitation Centre which provides restorative care and rehabilitation for patients recovering from a variety of medical conditions that include Neurological, Orthopaedic, Surgical and Respite. At Tokai Healthcare, the focus is mainly on acute conditions that immediately affect patients’ rehabilitation progress.
Our world-class care aims to bridge the gap between hospital and home. Our Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) of leading healthcare professionals administers care in the most therapeutic environment possible and supports healing outcomes in all aspects.
We are seeking a Family Physician to co-lead the team of medical officers in conjunction with the current Family Physician.
Duties include but are not limited to:
- Provide comprehensive medical care and management of patients transitioning from hospital to home, focusing on rehabilitation and recovery.
- Conduct thorough patient assessments, including reviewing medical histories, performing physical exams, and diagnosing medical conditions.
- Develop and implement individualised care plans in collaboration with a multidisciplinary team, including nurses, therapists, and specialists.
- Monitor patient progress and adjust treatment plans as needed to promote optimal recovery and health outcomes.
- Oversee medication management, ensuring appropriate prescriptions, dosages, and monitoring for potential side effects or interactions.
- Provide ongoing education to patients and families regarding diagnoses, treatment plans, and long-term care strategies.
- Helping to start an outpatient department to follow-up patients who are discharged from Faircape Tokai.
- Providing advice to other medical officers on patients they are managing.
- Reviewing incident reports (e.g. where a patient deteriorated) and assisting with monthly morbidity and mortality meetings.
- Assisting with audits to ensure most up-to-date evidence-based medicine is practised.
- Assisting with infection control meetings and antimicrobial stewardship.
- Drawing up and organising weekend call rosters and distributing the relevant notice to staff members.
- Assisting with recruitment of new medical officers / locums and probationary reviews of new doctors.
- Managing orientation of new medical officers.
- Ensure that regular clinical excellence reviews of permanent medical officers are performed.
- Giving input where needed to medical/nursing guidelines and procedures.
- Assisting to coordinate weekly academic talks with the doctor team.
Requirements:
- Family medicine accreditation with HPCSA.
- MPS / insurance membership and active HPCSA registration.
- Experience and interest in internal medicine, geriatrics, and palliative care is beneficial.
- Experience in private healthcare is beneficial.
- Willing to work within a multidisciplinary and nursing team environment.
Skills and Attributes:
- Ethical Practice: Adherence to medical ethics, maintaining patient confidentiality, and making decisions in the patient’s best interest.
- Effectively manage your own time, workload and effectively collaborate with the MDT team.
- Dependable, responsible
- Patient-Centred Care: Ability to prioritise patient needs and provide compassionate, empathetic care.
- Excellent communication skills by effective communication with patients, families, and colleagues, including listening attentively and explaining medical information clearly.
- Proficient in diagnosing a wide range of medical conditions based on symptoms, medical history, and diagnostic tests.
- Ability to make sound clinical decisions, based on thorough assessment and analysis.
- Problem-Solving skills by having the ability to address complex medical issues, considering multiple factors to reach optimal treatment plans.
- Ethical practice by adherence to medical ethics, maintaining patient confidentiality, and making decisions in the patient’s best interest.
- Commitment to excellence to ensure the goals of the clinical team are met.
Specific Requirements:
- Clear criminal record.
- Written references.
- Hepatitis B vaccination.
- Clear health record.
![Family Physicians logo[transparent]](https://saafp.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Family-Physicians-logotransparent-1200x266.png)