REGULATION
Health council to hold hearings on the scope of psychologists’ practice
Nonclinical psychologists complain the regulations are too narrow to provide legitimate services
The Health Professions Council of SA (HPCSA) is poised to begin public consultation on a contentious set of regulations aimed at defining the scope of practice of psychologists. Nonclinical psychologists say the regulations are so narrowly defined, they stop them from providing legitimate services. To add to their woes, some medical schemes have interpreted the regulations in such a way that they will no longer reimburse services provided by nonclinical psychologists, such as educational, counselling and industrial psychologists. Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has until November 2018 to revise the regulations, which were promulgated in 2011 but declared invalid by the courts after a challenge from the Recognition of Life Long Learning in Psychology Action Group and the Justice Alliance of SA. The declaration of invalidity was suspended pending the finalisation of revised regulations. Last week, the HPCSA said that a working group established by its Professional Board for Psycholog...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.