CONCERN OVER VIOLATION OF MANTO'S RIGHTS

This is the post that would have been done on 8th March

Shame guys! Shouldn't you give the minister some space, she needs to take her beetroot, her garlic and her lemon juice in peace!

Regards

Nikki

Concern over violation of Manto's rights

Johannesburg, South Africa

27 February 2007 06:07

The disregard for Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang's right to privacy is cause for deep concern, the Registrar of the Health Professions Council of South Africa said on Tuesday.

Registrar Boyce Mkhize voiced his concern about the "indiscriminate insensitivity and wanton disregard" of the minister's rights after she was admitted to Johannesburg General Hospital last Tuesday for treatment.

The minister's health had been under the spotlight since she returned to work a few weeks ago after suffering a long illness. Tshabalala-Msimang was admitted to the same hospital last year for several weeks, suffering from a lung infection. "Every citizen of this country ought to enjoy full protection of the law and constitutional rights enshrined in our Bill of Rights," Mkhize said in a statement."Every patient has a right to privacy and not to have their illness or ailment disclosed without their consent.

Mkhize said the doctor-patient relationship rests on this pillar of trust, which was about preserving confidentiality of patient data."No member of the public is entitled to know what the minister, or even the president suffers from, let alone the causes of such ailment as some excited journalists have attempted to establish."

Last week the Cabinet also objected to "highly personalised" comments in the media on Tshabalala-Msimang's well-being. The African National Congress also criticised a Democratic Alliance MP for her insensitive remarks about the minister. Mkhize said although the minister was a public figure, this did not mean there was a licence to an automatic and unrestrained trampling of her rights as an individual and that of her family.

He said he could not believe the insensitivity towards both the minister and to her family, who must be going through a difficult time. "I want to urge the hospital staff to ensure that they do not render themselves guilty of any ethical breaches by violating ... patient confidentiality," he said.

He warned that the council would not hesitate to take appropriate action if it was established that health professionals had disclosed patient information without the consent of the patient.Tshabalala-Msimang's spokesperson, Sibani Mngadi, said on Monday her condition was "improving speedily". -- Sapa