SAMA drama

The South African Medical Association, a much-troubled organisation, recently suspended all the members of its Cape Western branch council for questioning the legitimacy of the SAMA board of directors. This comes after allegations that the SAMA board is misusing member funds. Not too long ago, members of the SAMA public sector wing formed a separate organisation (the South African Medical Association Trade Union) and successfully sued for the use of their name.

Seen in the light of multiple allegations of corruption in high places in South Africa’s healthcare sector, the troubles at SAMA are particularly worrying. If the healthcare community is going to effectively challenge the NHI (and whatever new horrors the government comes up with), it must present a united front. Instead, the troubles at SAMA and elsewhere can be seen as a symptom of a health sector composed of atomised, self-seeking parties scrambling to assign resources to themselves and barely able to take legal action collectively. 

In this brand new issue, accredited for 3 General and 1 Ethics point, we take a look at brain health and the utility of vagal nerve stimulation, courtesy of neuropsychologist Digby Ormond-Brown. We also ask our wound expert Dr Ethel Andrews to discuss the state of wound care in SA, and get a primer on borderline personality disorder from Dr Antoinette Miric. The fascinating interplay between mental health and the gut is explained by Dr Peter Barrow, while some of the ethical implications of psychiatry are explored by Emeritus Prof Tuviah Zabow.

Finally, we have a host of shorter, primary-care-focused articles on nicotine replacement, cough mixtures, childhood constipation, eczema, and a commonly prescribed cold medication, all reviewed by our resident GP Dr Marlin McKay. We work for you here at Medical Academic Perspectives, so if there’s anything you would like to read about (or contribute) to this issue, please contact me directly at Conrad.Strydom@newmedia.co.za.

Thanks for the phenomenal response to our first three issues – hoping to see you for many, many more!

Regards,

Conrad