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The blight of bureaucracy.
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| Article Type: | Letter to the editor |
| Author: | Zaaijman, J. du T. |
| Pub Date: | 08/01/2008 |
| Publication: | Name: South African Medical Journal Publisher: South African Medical Association Audience: Academic Format: Magazine/Journal Subject: Health Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2008 South African Medical Association ISSN: 0256-9574 |
| Issue: | Date: August, 2008 Source Volume: 98 Source Issue: 8 |
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| Accession Number: | 204611536 |
| Full Text: |
To the Editor: I recently retired from active practice as a private
gynaecologist, moving to the rural heart of the Great Karoo, where I
still run a small 'office gynaecology' practice. A few months
after settling in, I was requested by an administrative head of the
primary health care clinics in the area to do some clinics for them. I
thought this would be a good way of ploughing something back into the
community where I had grown up, so I lodged the required application as
requested. I heard nothing, not even acknowledgement of receipt, for the
best part of six weeks. Eventually, the same officer phoned and informed
me that I needed also to produce my matric certificate, despite having
produced proof of registration as a specialist with the Health
Professions Council of South Africa. I had written matric some 46 years
ago, and could no longer produce the required proof of my matriculation
qualification. Another high-rank official from the same office later
phoned to stress to me that my 'application could not be
processed' unless I produced that matric certificate; it was an
absolute requirement. Unfortunately, that was also the end of our
negotiations. So everyone potentially concerned missed out on a nice
opportunity to do something worthwhile for the community where,
according to local newspapers, there is a serious shortage of doctors,
especially so-called 'scarce-skills' personnel. I thought the SAMJ letters column would be a good forum for drawing the attention of other professionals to the need to hold on to those matric certificates, whatever you do. I remain stunned by this demonstration of a morbidly bleak and blighted mentality. J du T Zaaijman Middelburg, E Cape zaaij@adsactive.com |
| Gale Copyright: | Copyright 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. |
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