The Inaugural National Conference of the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) took place from 18 – 20 August 2019 at the Emperors Palace, Kempton Park.
One of the highlights were the Conference Statement of Commitment 2019.
We the participants of the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA), represented by the Council, the Twelve (12) Professional Boards, the respective practitioners and various stakeholders from the health sector, gathered at the 1stHPCSA National Conference held on 18th to 20thAugust 2019 at the Emperor’s Palace in Kempton Park, Gauteng, hereby affirm the need to regulate practitioners towards the realisation of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) through National Health Insurance (NHI); and thereby contribute towards achieving quality healthcare for all South Africans (including the legal long-term residents) by 2026.
The HPCSA hereby affirm the three pillars necessary for the success of the NHI as the following:
- Access
- Affordability
- Quality
Having shared widely on various UHC issues, there was a strong consensus amongst those represented at the conference that:
- Health is a human right and that UHC is essential to health for all and to human security and dignity;
- National Health Insurance is the preferred funding model for South Africa as promulgated in the NHI Bill;
- Without NHI, hundreds of millions of South Africans are at risk of losing the opportunity to live full and productive lives, and hundreds of millions risk impoverishment in their pursuit of health care;
- Attaining NHI requires a responsive and proactive regulatory body
- Attaining NHI also requires strong inter-sectoral collaboration; and
- Adequate Human Resources for Health play a pivotal role in the realization of NHI.
That following the above agreed-upon matters, the HPCSA in its regulatory role commits to –
- Being a responsive and proactive regulatory body that enjoys the trust and confidence from both public, practitioners and stakeholders;
- In line with our regulatory framework, develop and support strategies, policies, and systems to harness and sustain training and education that encompasses ethics;
- Partnering with all regulatory bodies including nursing and allied health as a key component towards the attainment of NHI;
- Stimulate learning on innovation for NHI by accelerating the generation and sharing of critical knowledge by building on and enhancing coordination of existing and future networks.
- Ensuring quality of education and training for Human Resources for Health for all health professional sectors;
- Ensuring that training platforms provide for the promotion of preventative training in healthcare and multidisciplinary practices.
- Ensuring that health information and regulation must be strengthened and aligned to the principles of the fourth industrial revolution.
- Ensuring to commit to innovative means of expanding the training platforms in both the public and private sector.
- To ensure a work environment that enables ethical practice both publicly and privately.
In conclusion, HPCSA hereby urges all member health regulators to play a pro-active and leading role in the Realization of Universal Health Coverage.
Last Updated on 10 September 2019 by HPCSA Corporate Affairs