The unwritten new practice rights of the traditional health practitioner as stipulated by the Traditional Health Practitioners Act No 22 (2007) of South Africa

Abstract

Background:In 2007, a practice directive was issued for the new legal entity traditional health practitioner with the promulgation of the Traditional Health Practitioners Act (No 22 of 2007) in the Republic of South Africa. Although the Act describes this new pathway in terms of various definitions, the future practice rights and impact on healthcare were left undefined and unwritten. To date the negative legal implications and career consequences that the Act has for the regulated health practitioners, have gone unnoticed. The derogation and degrading of their work domains and rights, seem of no concern. Aims: The aim of the present study is to determine and describe the unwritten new practice rights of the traditional health practitioner. Methods: This is an exploratory and descriptive study in line with the modern historical approach of investigation by means of a literature review. The emphasis is on using documentation such as articles, books and newspapers as primary resources to reflect on the traditional health practitioner's new unsaid and unwritten future practice rights. Results: The future practice and services of traditional health practitioners seem to incorporate many new unwritten practice rights and activities, which is contrary to the Act's written intentions. Conclusion: The new traditional health practitioner's future practice rights are legally comprehensive and masked. It holds serious consequences for the practices of the established healthcare professions.