Ethical misconduct of HPCSA registered Occupational Therapists in South Africa

Abstract

In South Africa, the health care professions are regulated by statutory bodies which are organs of the state and can enforce laws such as the Health Professions Act. The Health Professions Act provides the parameters within which the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) can sanction members if they are in contravention of its regulations. During the period under analysis i.e. between 2007 and 2013, only three penalties were imposed against two occupational therapy practitioners. Although the number of penalties can be viewed as insignificant the value of the research is in the fact that cognisance needs to be taken by the profession of the relevant ethical issues in these cases. It is recommended that occupational therapists should always inform their clients appropriately and should also form informal mentoring groups. Keywords: ethical transgressions, fraud, ethical standards