Legal requirements for reporting clinical cases to the South African police or social services
Medical confidentiality is the cornerstone for a trustful relationship between patients and the health professionals attending to them. However, when history or clinical findings suggest certain offenses, statutory laws (Children’s Act, Older Persons Act, Mental Health Care Act, Sexual Offenses Act)...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
AOSIS
2024-06-01
|
| Series: | South African Family Practice |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://safpj.co.za/index.php/safpj/article/view/5919 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849329931254759424 |
|---|---|
| author | Dirk T. Hagemeister William Oosthuizen Bridgette Mokae |
| author_facet | Dirk T. Hagemeister William Oosthuizen Bridgette Mokae |
| author_sort | Dirk T. Hagemeister |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Medical confidentiality is the cornerstone for a trustful relationship between patients and the health professionals attending to them. However, when history or clinical findings suggest certain offenses, statutory laws (Children’s Act, Older Persons Act, Mental Health Care Act, Sexual Offenses Act) establish a legal obligation for health professionals to report suspected instances of abuse to the police or alternatively, in some cases, to a designated social worker. Given the high rate of domestic violence and abuse in South Africa, health professionals are most likely to encounter such situations. Many clinicians are oblivious of the obligations, exposing themselves to possible liability and their patients to potential additional harm. This article aims to demonstrate the reporting requirements under the respective acts through case scenarios. Finally, the advantages and disadvantages of the existing legal setting are discussed briefly. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7b9f9f78561e438db4a5a8256f8c2f2f |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2078-6190 2078-6204 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-06-01 |
| publisher | AOSIS |
| record_format | Article |
| series | South African Family Practice |
| spelling | doaj-art-7b9f9f78561e438db4a5a8256f8c2f2f2025-08-20T03:47:07ZengAOSISSouth African Family Practice2078-61902078-62042024-06-01661e1e510.4102/safp.v66i1.59194441Legal requirements for reporting clinical cases to the South African police or social servicesDirk T. Hagemeister0William Oosthuizen1Bridgette Mokae2Department of Family Medicine, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa; and, Department of Family Medicine, Free State Department of Health, BloemfonteinDepartment of Legal Affairs, South African Medical Association, Pretoria, South AfricaDepartment of Criminology, Faculty of Humanities, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South AfricaMedical confidentiality is the cornerstone for a trustful relationship between patients and the health professionals attending to them. However, when history or clinical findings suggest certain offenses, statutory laws (Children’s Act, Older Persons Act, Mental Health Care Act, Sexual Offenses Act) establish a legal obligation for health professionals to report suspected instances of abuse to the police or alternatively, in some cases, to a designated social worker. Given the high rate of domestic violence and abuse in South Africa, health professionals are most likely to encounter such situations. Many clinicians are oblivious of the obligations, exposing themselves to possible liability and their patients to potential additional harm. This article aims to demonstrate the reporting requirements under the respective acts through case scenarios. Finally, the advantages and disadvantages of the existing legal setting are discussed briefly.https://safpj.co.za/index.php/safpj/article/view/5919mandatory reportingsouth africaabusevulnerable populationsdelivery of healthcare |
| spellingShingle | Dirk T. Hagemeister William Oosthuizen Bridgette Mokae Legal requirements for reporting clinical cases to the South African police or social services South African Family Practice mandatory reporting south africa abuse vulnerable populations delivery of healthcare |
| title | Legal requirements for reporting clinical cases to the South African police or social services |
| title_full | Legal requirements for reporting clinical cases to the South African police or social services |
| title_fullStr | Legal requirements for reporting clinical cases to the South African police or social services |
| title_full_unstemmed | Legal requirements for reporting clinical cases to the South African police or social services |
| title_short | Legal requirements for reporting clinical cases to the South African police or social services |
| title_sort | legal requirements for reporting clinical cases to the south african police or social services |
| topic | mandatory reporting south africa abuse vulnerable populations delivery of healthcare |
| url | https://safpj.co.za/index.php/safpj/article/view/5919 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT dirkthagemeister legalrequirementsforreportingclinicalcasestothesouthafricanpoliceorsocialservices AT williamoosthuizen legalrequirementsforreportingclinicalcasestothesouthafricanpoliceorsocialservices AT bridgettemokae legalrequirementsforreportingclinicalcasestothesouthafricanpoliceorsocialservices |