On a scorching hot morning in December, we sent our intern journalist to Dr Maduma’s practice to see if he could buy a sick note.
He took a seat on one of the broken plastic chairs closest to the entrance and patiently waited his turn. There were five people ahead of him in the queue. When it was his turn, Dr Maduma ushered our intern from the waiting area to what we presume to be the consultation area. The waiting area is separated from the consultation area by large pieces of cloth pegged onto a line that runs across the shipping container.
Shortly after paying the money over, our perfectly healthy intern emerged from Dr Maduma’s practice, with a sick note affording him three days’ sick leave.
“He asked me what he should put on the sick note. I told him I didn’t know and asked him to suggest something. He said it wasn’t a problem and just wrote down ‘a medical condition’. Just like that, we were done,” said our intern.
The Vryheid Herald checked the practice number on the sick note with the Board of Healthcare Funders (BHF) and no record of the practice number existed. Officials at the BHF confirmed that they are the only institution in South Africa that may issue a practice number.
However, traditional healers and practitioners of alternative medicine may also lawfully issue a sick note if they deem it necessary.
