ARTICLES

 

Legislation for everyday occupational therapy practice

 

 

Dain Van Der Reyden

(Nat Dipl OT, BA, LLM[Med Law]; Senior Lecturer, Department of OT, UKZN

Correspondence

 

 

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ABSTRACT

Occupational therapists practise in a progressively structured legal framework in which much of what was previously ethical obligation has become entrenched in legislation - hence the need for accessible information about such legislation. This paper reviews legislation relevant for day to day practice, from an occupational therapy perspective, regardless of client group, facility or practice area. It provides information about the relevant Acts in user friendly terms and outlines implications for practice.
The author reviews the Constitution of South Africa Act 108 of 1996, the Health Professions Act 56 of 1974 (as amended) and the National Health Act 61 of2003 in detail, highlighting relevant provisions, and briefly mentions the Promotion of Access to Information Act 20 of 2000, and the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act 4 of 2000.
This paper thus attempts to provide a context within which the occupational therapist can practise legally and professionally. As ethical principles are now firmly embedded within legislation this impacts on professional ethical training and practice, this paper aims at assisting the occupational therapist to gain sufficient understanding of the law to enable effective and ethically appropriate patient/ client management.

Key words: South African legislation, health professional, ethics, occupational therapy practice

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References

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Correspondence:
Dain Van Der Reyden
reydend@ukzn.ac.za