Name change of the School for Allied Health Professions

So many stakeholders and alumni have enquired about the name change of the School for Allied Health Professionals and why? It is therefore a useful exercise to inform all stakeholders and alumni about this important step that has been taken.

During an HPCSA stakeholder meeting held in August 2019, it came to light that healthcare professionals (other than medical doctors) registered with the HPCSA may not be referred to as allied health professions/professionals. This is mainly due to the fact that allied health professions/professionals refer to specific professions registered under the Allied Health Professions Act, No. 63 of 1982 (see extract below).

• In terms of section (1) (1) of the Allied Health Professions Act 63 of 1982, ‘allied health profession’ means the profession of ayurveda, Chinese medicine and acupuncture, chiropractic, homeopathy, naturopathy, osteopathy, phytotherapy, therapeutic aromatherapy, therapeutic massage therapy or therapeutic reflexology, or any other profession contemplated in section 16(1) to which this Act applies.

Furthermore, it is stipulated in the Allied Health Professions Act No 63 of 1982, that if any person, other than those included above, refers to himself/herself/themselves as an allied health profession/professional, they are subject to legal action (see extract below).

• Section 31 (1), subject to the provisions of subsection (2) of this section and section 41, any person who is not registered as a practitioner in a particular profession and who (c) pretends, or by any means whatsoever holds himself or herself out, to be any such practitioner, whether or not purporting to be registered; or (d) uses the title of acupuncturist, ayurvedic practitioner, chiropractor, homeopath, naturopath, osteopath, phytotherapist, therapeutic aromatherapist, therapeutic massage therapist, therapeutic reflexologist or of any other profession registered in terms of this Act, or any other title or any name, description or symbol indicating, or calculated to lead persons to infer, that he or she holds the qualification of acupuncturist, ayurveda practitioner, chiropractor, homeopath, naturopath, osteopath, phytotherapist, therapeutic aromatherapist, therapeutic massage therapist, therapeutic reflexologist or of any other profession registered in terms of this Act, shall be guilty of an offence and on conviction liable to a fine or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months or to both a fine and such imprisonment.

In light of the above, the Executive Committee of the School for Allied Health Professions decided that a name change was required. The names of other similar schools/departments in Faculties of Health Sciences were benchmarked, and a survey based on these results was distributed in the school. The option of an alternative name was also included. The survey yielded 232 responses from students, academic staff, support staff, and contract/session staff. Table 1 includes the preferences of the participants.

Table 1: Alternative naming options for the School for Allied Health Professions

After consideration of these results by the Executive Committee of the School for Allied Health Professions at their meeting on 25 October 2019, it was decided that the majority vote would be accepted, as it is also preferred that the school not have the same name as the faculty (the option with the second highest percentage of votes), and the other options were not as positive as those two. The committee thus proposed the amended name of the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (SHRS) to the Faculty Management Committee of the Faculty of Health Sciences. The name was approved as such at the Faculty Management meeting held on 18 November 2019.

The school, through the Faculty Management Committee, requested consideration and final approval for the changed name from the UFS Naming Committee.