Research Articles (Faculty of Law)

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Browsing by Author "Albertus, Chesne"

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    THE NATIONAL POLICY FRAMEWORK AND STRATEGY ON PALLIATIVE CARE 2017‒2022: WHAT’S IN IT FOR TERMINALLY ILL INMATES IN SOUTH AFRICA?
    (2020) Albertus, Chesne
    In South Africa many people suffer from serious, incurable health conditions that may render them incapacitated and/or terminally ill. Such persons may inevitably require holistic care such as palliative care. The adoption in 2017 of the National Policy Framework and Strategy on Palliative Care 2017‒2022 (NPFSPC) in line with the Health Assembly Resolution 67.19 “Strengthening of Palliative Care as a Component of Comprehensive Care Throughout the Life Course” thus marked a significant milestone for advocates of palliative care, as well as for persons affected by terminal illness. Despite this positive step towards the fulfilment of the right to access healthcare, terminally ill persons who are inmates in South African correctional centres are not sufficiently protected by the NPFSPC. While the policy may be lauded for its detailed provisions aimed at affording appropriate care to free persons, it makes but a few fleeting references to inmates who are terminally ill – a very vulnerable group, given the often appalling conditions in correctional centres, the limited resources generally available to inmates and the stigma attached to them. It is therefore submitted that palliative care should be available to all inmates diagnosed with a terminal illness from the moment they are diagnosed. This article also analyses the stated purpose of the NPFSPC in relation to correctional settings, as well as the impact of disease on correctional centres, and the importance of fostering partnerships.
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    Palliative care for terminally ill inmates: Does the state have a legal obligation?
    (Juta Law, 2012) Albertus, Chesne
    ‘We ought to give those who are to leave life … the terminally ill … the same care and attention that we give those who enter life – the new-born.’1 In this article it is contended that terminally ill inmates have a right to palliative care and that the State has a duty to fulfil this right. The number of unsuccessful medical parole applications and recorded natural deaths of inmates is considered as indicative of the problem of terminally ill inmates in South African prisons. It is further contended that the State’s obligation arises from an inmate’s constitutional right to health care and from an increasingly recognised international human right to palliative care.
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    Protecting inmates' dignity and the public's safety: a critical analysis of the new law on medical parole in South Africa
    (University of the Western Cape, 2012) Albertus, Chesne
    This paper is aimed at critically assessing the new section 79 of the Correctional Services Act and whether it creates a medical parole system which protects the dignity of inmates and gives due consideration to public safety.
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    The right to health in respect of terminally ill persons in South Africa
    (2014) Albertus, Chesne
    It is probably true that „death is the great equalizer‟ amongst human beings and that some of its „cousins: illness, dementia, physical debility, and advance age‟2 can ensure a journey marked by severe pain and suffering before we reach our ultimate fate. Yet, despite this reality most people choose not to think or talk about the issues that affect human beings during the period of life called dying, which is possibly the most vulnerable time in human existence. The limited discussions on end-of-life issues arguably exacerbate the vulnerability of those who are affected by terminal illnesses. This is unfortunate and particularly of concern in the South African context where there are indications that thousands of people are not enjoying good health and are in fact facing life-threatening or potentially life-threatening medical diagnoses.