Tags
clinic, compulsory hiv testing, doh, hct, hiv test, policy, refused treatment, sowetan, stigma, the times, vctTurned away: No test, no treatment!
Kim Johnson
2 August 2011
The Times and the Sowetan have reported that a public clinic in the North West has refused patients treatment for various illnesses on the grounds that they would not consent to an HIV test.
Both articles report that visitors to the clinic are refused treatment for anything from diabetes to high blood pressure if they do not consent to an HIV test.
In addition to this even those seeking preventative measures such as immunisations and contraceptives are refused these if they forego the proffered test.
This kind of treatment could see preventable and manageable illnesses being left unaddressed eventually increasing the burden on the facilities in the area. Most alarming is that lives could be lost because of the irresponsible and inexcusable actions of the clinic staff involved.
Clinic-goers also complained that those who did have HIV tests could not rely on the clinic’s staff to keep their HIV-status confidential. This could have severe consequences considering that HIV is still highly stigmatised in many South African communities.
HIV-testing in South Africa has recently shifted from the voluntary testing and counseling (VCT) model to the HIV-testing and counseling (HCT) model which was the basis for the recent national HCT campaign.
VCT implies that patients must request an HIV test at healthcare facilities, while the HCT paradigm works on the basis that patients are offered an HIV test when they visit a clinic regardless of what they are seeking treatment for.
In both cases the individual can accept or refuse the test without fear of negative consequences.
The idea behind this move is to encourage people to test for HIV through making HIV testing more ‘visible’ and accessible and to foster a culture where HIV-testing is less daunting and more ‘everyday.’
In June of this year similar reports surfaced which alleged that staff at a clinic in Hillbrow had turned away an elderly woman complaining of hip pain because she would not submit to an HIV test.
The government responded to these reports stating that while HIV-testing was strongly advised, taking an HIV test was not a criteria which needed to be met in order to access treatment.
It would seem that the investigations which Health Department officials said would be initiated around the June incident either were not conducted or were not given sufficient attention given that the problem has reoccurred.
Follow-up by the media on this matter might also have worked as an incentive for the parties involved to deal with the matter.
While knowing one’s HIV-status is vital to preventing the virus and allowing those who are already positive to lead long and healthy lives, taking an HIV test remains a personal choice.
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