I am honoured to have been chosen to follow in the footsteps Prof Chris Joseph, the President of our Society for the past three years.
On behalf of our EXCO and all the members of our Society, I wish to convey our sincere thanks to Prof Joseph for all the hours that he has sacrificed from family and practice. He has played a leading role striving for fair and realistic treatment of ENT surgeons by funders and politicians. Taking over the reigns as president of a well run institution is a privilege. However, following in my predecessors’ footsteps will be a daunting task.
Our Annual Congress was held at the ICC in Cape Town during the first week of November 2009. International delegate numbers were certainly up on previous years. No doubt the venue played a role in enticing many of our overseas colleagues to attend the Congress and visit South Africa.
Unfortunately, attendance from the rest of Africa (i.e. non-South-African Africa) was still very low. As South Africa is largely considered to be the primary stepping stone into the African continent, I propose that we start an “outreach” program that seeks to exchange information on difficult cases and resolve problems encountered with new technologies.
Effective utilisation of the myriad of modern communication technologies available has the potential to facilitate a far greater exchange of information between our primary academic institutions and those ENT surgeons that feel that they are alone in the “wilderness”. I urge our colleagues located north of South Africa to contact us via this website. We would like to initiate meaningful dialogue and enrol you in our continual education programs.
Our campaign for fair and realistic remuneration for our services is gathering momentum. We are encouraged by the new Health Minister’s approach. For the first time since 1994, we have a colleague that graduated from a South African university as Minister of Health. Dr Motsoaledi’s has experienced first-hand the same grindstone we experience. I am optimistic that for the first time we will have a Minister that actually knows how a South African Practice operates, and how to fund such a practice. The Minister seems determined to sort the remuneration dispute out of court.
I am still apprehensive that the same inept individuals that were working for the previous Minister, Manto Msimang, continue to be employed for the new Minister. They will, as always, remain obstructive. The public is still being fed false propaganda, conveniently using select statistics to further the same bureaucrats’ own agendas.
In the Council for Medical Schemes
Annual Report, issued in September 2009, the report states that, “General practitioners received R5.2 billion (8.1%) of total benefits paid. This was an increase of 18.5% compared with 2007.” The report also states that expenditure on private hospital services accounted for R23.7 billion or 37.0% of the total benefits paid to healthcare providers. This was an increase of 17.4% from 2007.
The report then claims that “Payments to medical specialists accounted for R14.0 billion or 21.7% of benefits paid in 2008, reflecting a year-on-year increase of 13.7%.” What the CMS report does not indicate, is that this increase of 13.7% figure is a combination of payments made to clinical specialists, radiology and pathology. Radiology and pathology’s increases account for +/-5% of the total 13,7% increase. This means that payments to clinical specialists increased by only +/8,7% for the 2008/9 payouts (approximately CPI and well below medical inflation). If one compares that to the other payouts, there is no wonder our country’s quality specialists care is imploding.
Those politicians that continue to release skewed statistics to suit their personal goals, should look at their behaviour and accept that they are responsible for the destruction of the country’s excellent medical services. Ironically, the very same medical services will care for these politicians as they get older and sicker. The civil servants will get what they deserve.
Dear
members,