The South African Medico Legal Society

Dear Colleagues and Friends

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

2. News about the Symposium on Informed Consent, scheduled for

10 May 2003.

3. News about our Annual General Meeting at a comfortable conference centre over the weekend of 4 – 6 April 2003.

4. Activities during the Annual General Meeting

5. News from the Executive Committee

6. Possibility explored of bursaries for Law students to further the science of Medicine and Law.

7. Overseas news – Dutch publication about the Dentist in Disciplinary Administration of Justice over the period of 1994 to 2001.

8. Interesting cases discussed from this publication

9. Final draft about Medico-Legal reports, format and fee structuring – last chance for input.

10. Membership fees to be paid

ADVICE! Print this newsletter out in order to read it conveniently.

1. It should be considered a privilege to be involved with the South African Medico Legal Society as the medico-legal scene is such an important part of everyday life and indeed of professional practice. The medico-legal field however needs to be developed, and our Society serves the role of the co-ordinator, stimulated and continued educator.

2. For that purpose the South African Medico Legal Society organises two symposia a year, each about a relevant and important subject. Last year Third Party Matters and Expert Witness - Expert Opinion were studied. This year we will start on Saturday 10 May 2003 with Informed Consent - an update by the Judiciary and the Academics. Diarise this date, as we will have an excellent line-up of speakers, such as Prof McQuoid-Mason, Prof Mitchell, Adv Van Jaarsveld and High Court Judge Bertelsmann. The venue will be the Protea Midrand Hotel as always. The meeting will start at 09:30. Members will meet from 09:00 to 09:30.

3. As we have already announced at the last symposium, our Annual General Meeting will be held at a comfortable conference centre, with chalets and other private facilities. We have booked Ekudeni Resort, 6 km from the R28 (Krugersdorp) highway off-ramp to Randburg. The full accommodation and conference tariffs are R 495,00 per person per night. Please visit their website at www.ekudeni.co.za. We have booked the whole facility from Friday afternoon 4 April 2003 until Sunday morning 06 April 2003 exclusively for the SAMLS. Our secretary Dr. Dave Barnes can be approached with bookings. Please let us know in time as the accommodation is somewhat restricted.

4. The Executive Committee plans the following:

Friday 04/04/2003 Booking in, enjoying a meal and a drink together, socialising and starting to relax

Saturday morning 05/04/2003

Annual General Meeting SAMLS at 09:30 with EXCO elections and other important issues. Time will be set aside for a think scrum regarding the road ahead.

Saturday Afternoon Enjoy the afternoon in a relaxing atmosphere

Saturday Evening An early braai will be held in a relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere. People who want to depart can do so afterwards, or stay overnight.

Sunday morning Breakfast and final departure before 10:00.

5. As Executive Committee we recently had the discussion about the comprehensive function of our Society, not only to educate about medico-legal matters, but also to think about ethical issues, both of interest for the medical and legal fraternity. One of the issues would be wrongful life and wrongful death. Others would be euthanasia, in vitro fertilisation and artificial insemination. Although opinions usually vary as founded on religious beliefs, important aspects regarding the medical and legal sides of the medallion should be discussed. Not only is the Law Commission composing advice for legislation about these subjects, but these ethical issues are also part and parcels of our daily profession lives. Just think it over and come forward with constructive proposals concerning these matters.

6. One of the subjects for discussion on the Annual General Meeting in April would be the future development of Science of Medicine and Law. One proposal could be that our Society could organise bursaries for LLM students with medical law as one of the main subjects and indeed this is what we are already looking at. The first thing would be to approach the Head of Departments of Criminal Law, where Medical Law resides, about the feasibility of such bursaries. Not only should proper subjects be chosen, but also should strict control be necessary to bring the specific bursary student’s thesis to publication. One could propose that our Society should be the facilitator of such a project. To facilitate and promote studies that are of importance to the medico-legal field, would surely be an honour. To attract the top students in medical law and make them more interested in the subject, would strengthen our side and would help to reach our ultimate goal of separate medico-legal courts, separate chairs at universities in Medical Law, our own journal and our own international congresses.

But as always money is the centre of the universe. Nonetheless the idea is so challenging that ways could be found to generate that money and sponsor these bursaries.

7. To illustrate this point, I would like to refer you to a Dutch publication last year in the series Gezondheidrecht. Number 17 deals specifically and solely with the Dentist in the Disciplinary Administration of Justice. This 438-page book describes the disciplinary administration of justice over the period of 1994 to 2001. What a gem of acquired knowledge in that specific field of dentistry! The chapters systematically discuss the variety of dentistry technical aspects, the aspects of patient's rights, organisational aspects and miscellaneous subjects. Quite unthinkable to produce a work like that in our country, but not impossible for the future.

8. To highlight a few interesting cases about the attitude of the dentists serves as a warning for medical and legal practices in general.

To quarrel with your receptionist and curse her in front of a patient is not only improper but also unprofessional. To discipline a child to subject himself/herself to medical investigation could bring you in trouble. Not only is it unconstitutional to use force, but also to shout and curse at the patient. To slap the child patient in the face, although pedagogically, could bring you a warning, as one dentist found out. Although it is the plight of the parents to discipline a child in such a manner that the dentist will be able to treat the child in a responsible manner, no excessive force causing two haematomas will be acceptable behaviour.

To jerk at the patient and sprinkle him with cold water to get him to release the drill could bring you into trouble. (Thank heaven for general anaesthesia!) Not every patient likes the dentist to be rough and throw the dental prosthesis around. A complaint could follow.

Payment is the contractual obligation of the patient to the dentist. Non-payment could bring a debt judgement against the patient and the dentist, by that has the right to collect it in the manner he sees fit, like phoning and writing to the patients himself. No intimidation however is acceptable behaviour and collection of debt should always be done in an appropriate manner.

To follow-up a patient with after-treatment should be seen by the dentist as a professional obligation and should be done in a professional manner, according to the standards of the average dentist. To postpone a necessary follow-up visit with an appointment weeks later, or with no appointment at all, will be seen as unprofessional, irresponsible behaviour and a contravention on the Statutes of Professions in the Individual Health Care.

It would be interesting to analyse problems around diagnosis, therapy and complications, but that perhaps we could do in a next newsletter.

9. As has been known beforehand, the draft concerning the Society's point of view about the format and remuneration of Medico-Legal reports will be formulated. The draft will then be available for final comment, after which it will be the official point of view of our Society. The whole idea was, and still is, to bring some order in the art of medico-legal reporting and fee structure that is acceptable for all. This official point of view will be promoted at the Road Accident Fund, Workman's Compensation Commissioner, Personal Injury Lawyers, the Bar Council, Life Insurance Companies, etc. Please stay involved. To complain after the whole process has taken place is “mostert na die maal”

10. It is my privilege to reanimate each member by way of these newsletters. We need each other and every one of you to make our Society a success. Several exciting projects are just waiting to get started and therefore we need more members. It is my urgent plea to every member to look around and identify appropriate people who could become members of our Society. Please approach them and bring them with you to the next seminar in May 2003. We want to become a body to be reckoned with and we want our members to be seen as specialists in their fields, honest and dedicated, who could be trusted in any appropriate case. Our membership list on our website, www.samls.co.za serves that purpose too, by publicising professional qualifications as well as contact details.

Remember to pay your membership fee before the seminar in May 2003. You will be saving R 100,00. The membership fee stays the same for 2003 at

R 750,00 per year. Late payment at the first symposium however means a fee of R 850,00 and payment at the second seminar in October 2003 takes the membership fee to R 900,00, the same as the costs for the seminars for non-members. Reservations need to be made at symposium venues, speakers need to be reserved and some of them compensated for their costs. Please let us work together to make our Treasurer's job easier.

Your president

DR & ADV ANTON H VAN DEN BOUT

EXCO MEMBERS:- Mr Jan van Rooyen - Vice President

Dr. Dave Barnes - Secretary

Dr. Henny Pienaar – Treasurer

Prof Pieter Carstens – Member