exercise , mindfulness , sleep quality and reducing burnout .
• Quality , accessible PPE to provide security and reduce the likelihood of infection for themselves and their loved ones .
• Opportunities to research and implement telehealth in a variety of settings to limit exposure to infection .
• Reduce the stigma on mental health symptoms and the psychological impact of significant stressful events within the health profession . Development of new health professional ’ s community groups and encouragement of participation to allow connections and reduce feelings of isolation .
One issue for health professionals that often flies under the radar , is professional indemnity . While it is clearly a necessity in such a precarious environment , one would be surprised at how little health professionals know and understand about the indemnity cover afforded to them . As an example , it is not well understood that the current largest provider of indemnity cover to South African health professionals is a foreign membership organisation and not a registered insurer . Consequently , health professionals enjoy little to no access to regulatory protection in the event of a dispute with the membership organisation providing the indemnity . Health professionals remain an important and large membership grouping for PPS and it is against this backdrop that PPS decided to make a difference . Launched in 2018 the aim with PPS Health Professions Indemnity was and remains , to provide sustainable indemnity protection for the whole of a health professional ’ s career . Prior to this , health professionals had little choice of indemnity provider . This had a direct impact on both the price of indemnity cover and the service received .
Health professionals are in the unenviable position of facing multiple jeopardy – a single consultation or incident may result in multiple actions against one . The consequences may range from an unhappy patient reporting a practitioner to the Health Professions Council of South Africa ( HPCSA ), to that same patient implementing legal action claiming damages from the practitioner . Similarly , the death of a patient may result in an HPCSA investigation , a judicial inquest or even a criminal trial where a doctor is charged with culpable homicide and , if found guilty , sentenced to prison and consequently erased from the register . All this resulting from a single incident .
To add to this , the COVID-19 pandemic adds to these risks . Health professionals now also have to deal with :
• Financial strain as a result of limitations placed on elective surgery and surgical admissions limited as a result of beds being commissioned for COVID-19 patients .
• Requests for advice regarding informed consent ranging from access to rooms to the explanation of treatment options and plans .
• Increased risks associated with telemedicine especially regarding security , Protection of Personel Information Act , limitations thereof and informed consent .
• Requests for advice resulting from a generally emotionally-charged environment where patients are more likely to complain about issues that normally would not be cause for complaint e . g . billing and response times .
• The inherent conflict between a doctor ’ s obligation as a health professional and the actions of funders of health care i . e . medical aid schemes .
• Life and death decisions where health professionals are forced to make difficult decisions as to which critical patient to treat .
The prime objective of PPS Health Professions Indemnity is to protect the health professional from liability stemming
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