Basson in high court bid to save his career

Dr Wouter Basson. Picture: Oupa Mokoena/Pretoria News

Dr Wouter Basson. Picture: Oupa Mokoena/Pretoria News

Published Feb 10, 2016

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Pretoria - Cardiologist Dr Wouter Basson has returned to the high court in Pretoria to fight to save his professional career.

Basson wants the chairman who presided over the disciplinary hearing against him, Professor Jannie Hugo, and another committee member Professor Eddie Mhlanga, to recuse themselves from proceedings.

According to Basson, the two were either biased or could be perceived to be biased. He said Hugo in particular never disclosed that he was a member of the South African Medical Association (Sama), which is one of the bodies which called for Basson’s name to be removed from the roll of medical professions.

If the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) did adhere to this demand and remove Basson as a medical professional, it would mean the end of his medical career.

Basson was found guilty of unprofessional conduct in December 2013. This followed a disciplinary hearing into complaints stemming from his activities in the early 1980s when he headed the apartheid government’s chemical and biological warfare programme, dubbed Project Coast.

While evidence was being led regarding which sanction should be imposed on Basson, it came to light that some of the committee members had links with organisations which called for the highest punishment against him.

Several petitions were handed to the panel in aggravation of punishment, including Sama and the Rural Doctors Association of South Africa, which called for an end to his medical career.

As it came to light that two members of the panel were linked to these organisations, Basson turned to the high court earlier and was granted a stay of the disciplinary proceedings until he launched an application for the two members to recuse themselves.

They refused to withdraw from the hearing and Basson now again turned to the high court, asking Judge David Unterhalter to review that refusal.

If the court ordered the recusal, it would mean that disciplinary proceedings which lasted for the past seven years would have to start afresh before another panel.

Jaap Cilliers SC, for Basson, said it was critical that the court decided on the recusal application as it had a direct impact on Basson’s career.

As the law stands, Basson can appeal against whatever punishment is meted out to him, but he will be suspended from working (if his named is removed from the medical roll) pending the outcome of that appeal, which could take months.

“Should I be prohibited to proceed with my practice for months, it would cause irreparable harm to my practice and even mean the end of it.”

Basson, 66, said he needed to stay abreast of developments in the field of cardiology and he needs to continuously attend medical conferences. This he couldn’t do if he was suspended. He said he had 13 500 patients and saw about 18 patients a day, as well as attending to about 20 hospital consultations a day.

He also did about 20 theatre procedures a week. “If I was prevented from practising for a couple of months, the situation would be chaotic, to say the very least,” he said in a statement to court.

Advocate Salie Joubert, acting for the HPCSA, said there was no merit in Basson’s application, adding that it was merely a desperate attempt by him to avoid the inevitable - to have his name removed from the medical roll.

He said the “shoe is now pinching” and Basson ran to the court as a last resort to avoid punishment.

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