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SAMA Survey: Medical Doctors’ perspective on Euthanasia and Doctor-Assisted Suicide And their views on legalising these practices in South Africa: A Cross Sectional Survey

Dear SAMA Member

The contentious issue of euthanasia and doctor-assisted suicide (DAS) has once again received attention in the medical and legal communities.

You are invited to take part in an anonymous online survey on Euthanasia and Doctor-Assisted Suicide.

The survey is being conducted between 04 March – 04 April 2021.

This online survey will require about 15-20 minutes of your time.

Ensure that your personal perspective and opinion is included on this highly controversial subject by accessing the following link to the survey:
http://samedical.co.za/lime/index.php/999495?lang=en

An article published by MedicalBrief on the 10th of February 2021 reported that two patients, Dr. Suzanne Walter, a palliative care specialist, and her 71-year-old patient, Diethelm Harck will turn to the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg for a judgement to enact legalisation which would allow for euthanasia and/or doctor-assisted suicide. It has been reported that both Walter and Harck have been diagnosed with terminal diseases and that they would want to end their lives at the appropriate time.

The last time euthanasia and doctor-assisted suicide received attention was in 2015, when lawyer Robert Stransham-Ford filed an urgent application in the High Court of Gauteng (Pretoria) for an order that a doctor be legally entitled to give him a lethal dose to put an end to his life. Judge Hans Fabricius ruled in his favour, but Stansham-Ford died of natural causes two hours before the judgment.

Both life-ending practices are illegal in South Africa and while it not unlawful for any individual to end their life, there would be serious legal and ethical repercussions for any medical professional who participates in euthanasia and doctor-assisted suicide.

The objectives of the SAMA survey are to:

• To assess the knowledge of doctors on euthanasia and doctor-assisted suicide.
• To determine medical doctors’ attitudes and perceptions towards euthanasia and doctor-assisted suicide.
• To assess the doctors' willingness to provide euthanasia and doctor-assisted suicide.
• To establish doctors’ position on legalising euthanasia and doctor-assisted suicide in South Africa and their willingness to provide such treatment.

This will also serve to inform the SAMA position on the issue going forward.

This survey is supported by the SAMA Human Rights, Law and Ethics (HRLE) Committee, and is approved by the South African Medical Association Research Ethics Committee (SAMAREC).

Please note that this survey is for SAMA members only.

Questions or comments? Please contact:

Mr. Brandon Ferlito
Principal Investigator
+27 (0) 12 481 2018
brandonf@samedical.org

Call for SAMA membership comments on SAMA Draft Documents - Human Rights Law and Ethics Committee (HRLE)

The SAMA Human Rights Law and Ethics (HRLE) Committee and the SAMA Knowledge Management, Research and Ethics Department (KMRED) are inviting comments to three draft documents which have been developed over the last year:

• SAMA Draft statement on Electronic Health Records
• SAMA Draft Statement on Telehealth
• SAMA Draft Guidelines on Impaired Medical Practitioners

All draft documents are available for download and for upload of documents, comments and inputs from Thursday 25 February 2021 to Friday 25 March 2021. All documents are draft and considered working documents to be amended according to member feedback and changes to existing policy and law.

The Documents are available to members within the SAMA Members' area on the SAMA website at: https://www.samedical.org/client/document-comment

On this page, you will be able to view, and download the draft document as well as upload any additional documents AND include your own comments.

You will only be able to access and participate in the commentary process if you are a current SAMA member and registered on the website.

If you need to register on the website and don't yet have a profile, you may do so at: https://www.samedical.org/register

If you have forgotten your login password, you may reset your password at: https://www.samedical.org/forgot-password

The HRLE and the KMRED Team thank you for your time and effort in contributing to SAMA policies and guidelines.

Webinar | The Criminalisation of Healthcare Professionals: Culpable Homicide and Medical Manslaughter – A Global Perspective

This 1.5 hour interactive webinar looks at the topical and contentious issue of culpable homicide and how the law is being applied to healthcare professionals in South Africa.

Led by Dr Rob Hendry, Medical Director at Medical Protection – together with Dr Volker Hitzeroth, Dr Graham Howarth and Dr Alasdair McKelvie, our South Africa experts – the discussion will focus on how the criminalisation of clinicians, even in the absence of any intent to harm, could lead to prosecution and imprisonment.

Date: Tuesday, 9 March

Time: 19:00

Cost: No additional charge for members

Suitable for: All medical members practising in South Africa

Reminder: The Essential Medicines List and Standard Treatment Guidelines App is being reformulated - but the STGs and EML are available on other platforms

As indicated in a circular issued in September 2020, the EML Clinical Guide application is currently being re-platformed. This has resulted in users being unable to access the Standard Treatment Guidelines (STGs) and Essential Medicines List (EML) through the application. However, information was provided on how to access the STGs and EML using other platforms:

• National Department of Health (NDoH) website
• Knowledge Hub
• EMGuidance mobile application

1. Knowledge Hub:https://www.knowledgehub.org.za/elibrary/primary-healthcare-phc-standard-treatment-guidelines-and-essential-medicines-list-south
2. Ideal Clinic: https://www.idealhealthfacility.org.za/
3. EMGuidance: http://onelink.to/sy896k

Madhi’s plea to government: Don’t waste the AstraZeneca vaccine

Professor Shabir Madhi, eminent Medical Research Council vaccinologist and principle investigator in the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine trial locally, has urged the Health Department not to abandon the vaccine but to make immediate strategic use of it among high-risk groups before it expires

A year since South Africa recorded its first coronavirus case

South African Medical Research Council president Professor Glenda Gray reflects on the year that was. On this day last year, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize announced that a 38-year-old KwaZulu-Natal man who had just returned from Italy had tested positive for COVID-19. Very little was known about the virus, whose outbreak was initially detected and mostly concentrated in China.

South Africa’s ‘actual’ Covid-19 death rate – one year later

On 5 March 2020, health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize briefed president Cyril Ramaphosa that South Africa had reported its first Covid-19 case. A year later, and the official statistics show that 1,517,666 total cases have been reported in the country, with 50,462 confirmed deaths due to the coronavirus.

ONE YEAR OF COVID-19 | 'We can't make the same mistakes again': medical fraternity reflects on pandemic

Exactly a year ago, the first Covid-19 case was confirmed in SA. Since then, more than 1.5 million people have been confirmed as having contracted the disease - 94.6% recovered but more than 50,000 lives were lost.

S.AFRICA EXCESS DEATHS NEARLY TRIPLE OFFICIAL VIRUS FATALITIES

South Africa has recorded over 145,000 excess natural deaths over the past 10 months, a medical research report showed, suggesting COVID-19 fatalities could be almost triple the official figures. So far the health ministry has recorded over 1.5 million coronavirus cases in South Africa, of which more than 50,000 have been fatal.

SOUTH AFRICAN MEDICS CELEBRATE AFTER SHARP DROP IN COVID CASES

After a year battling coronavirus, exhausted health workers in South Africa are celebrating a drop in cases but dread another wave of infections -- a scenario that could strike just months from now.

The ESSENTIAL MEDICAL REFERENCE

SAMAREC

The South African Medical Association - Postal Address-The South African Medical Association P O Box 74789,Lynnwood Ridge Pretoria 0040, South Africa
Physical address The South African Medical Association, Block F Castle Walk Corporate Park Nossob Street Erasmuskloof Ext3 Pretoria 0181, South Africa www.samedical.org

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