FOR WRITTEN REPLY
QUESTION NO. 314
DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 22 June 2012
(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO. 18)
Mr S H Plaatjie (COPE-NW) to ask the Minister of Health:
Whether he has taken any actions against doctors who failed to follow the
ARVsâ standard treatment guidelines that were issued by his department; if
not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
CW415E
REPLY:
We are not aware of any doctor who deliberately failed to follow the ARVâs
standard treatment guidelines. Whilst clinicians are encouraged to use
national guidelines, the guiding principle for developing national
guidelines is to prioritise the best options for treatment of HIV-infected
patients and allow doctors and nurses to use their clinical discretion if
the clinical needs of the patient warrant a deviation from the national
guidelines, for instance in the presence of co-morbidity or in the case of
serious side effects.
END.__