HPCSA: Emergency services must ensure staff is registered
The Professional Board for Emergency Care of the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) has made an appeal to emergency services to ensure that their personnel are registered, after it came to light that some of these providers are allowing foreign students to work on ambulances.
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In terms of Section 17 of the Health Professions Act, registration is a prerequisite for practising any of the health professions laid out under this Act. Therefore, it is not permissible for any unregistered person to practise on the South African public, the HPCSA said in a statement.
As such any foreign student involved with the treatment of any patient must register with the HPCSA as a visiting student. Should an unregistered person be an observer, they are required to sign an undertaking of confidentially pertaining to any patient information to which they may be privy.
The board has a legislative mandate in terms of the Health Professions Act 1974 (Act no 56 of 1974) to ensure the registration of adequately educated, trained as well as appropriately qualified emergency care personnel for the rendering of quality and safe healthcare services to the South African public.
