UKZN Academic on Clinical Forensic Medicine Advisory Committee

BY: .

UKZN’s Dr Kantharuben Naidoo has been appointed to the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Clinical Forensic Medicine Advisory Committee (CFMSC).

The Committee aims to ensure there is alignment between the provincial CFMSC and the national body.

Naidoo is enthusiastic about his appointment, ‘I have the necessary skills, knowledge and expertise to help optimise clinical forensic medicine service delivery in the province. I am motivated by a strong ethos of human rights and patient advocacy.’

Naidoo said although the appointment was unexpected, he had been very active in teaching and training programmes, especially on the holistic management of a patient presenting with sexual assault.  The programmes included clinical examination, medico-legal documentation, evidentiary collection and post-exposure prophylaxis, including trauma counselling.

He said the committee’s role was to ensure the provision of CML services which were holistic, high quality, equitable, accessible, effective and efficient and involved role players such as National Prosecuting Authority, SAPS, the Department of Justice and Community Development, the Department of Social Development, the Department of Health and NGOs.

Another function  of the Committee was to ensure that the further education and training needs of service providers were met with an emphasis on research and development in the province.

Naidoo is Head of UKZN’s Clinical Unit-Family Medicine and has worked in crisis centres at Addington Hospital and Prince Mshiyeni Mission Hospital as well as the Chatsworth and Pinetown District Surgeon’s Office over the past 10 years.

He graduated with a Masters degree in Family Medicine at UKZN in 2003 and a Masters of Law (Medical Law) degree in 2008 under the mentorship of Professor Jerome Singh. He attained his PhD in Medicine last year supervised by Professor Umesh Lalloo and Professor Singh. His thesis was titled: “Ethical Dilemmas Encountered by Critical Care Specialists in the Admission of HIV infected patients to Intensive Care”.

He was invited by the South African Medical Association to Chair and speak at the plenary session on HIV/AIDS and Gender-based violence at the 17^th International Conference on AIDS and STI in Africa.

- Nombuso Dlamini