Abstract
The recent conduct of healthcare practitioners in the South African public healthcare as well as the patient-practitioner relations, suggest a less adherence to Ubuntu by healthcare practitioners. Ubuntu as espoused by Thaddeus Metz (2011:538) is understood primarily as communal harmony which is about engaging deeply in ethical relationships (Metz 2011;538). Metz (2011: 538) in his explanation of what Ubuntu is, he divides it into two elements namely, solidarity - supporting one another and pursuing actions that are expected to benefit the collective and not the individual. Identity – Identifying with and taking pride in being actively involved with other groups (Metz 2011: 538). In this dissertation I integrate Ubuntu principles into healthcare ethics with an objective of improving the professional conduct of healthcare practitioners and the patient-practitioner relations in the South African public healthcare. Drawing from the theory of Ubuntu and the HPCSA guidelines for good practice in the healthcare profession, I will conduct a philosophical analysis and develop an alternative framework to guide healthcare practitioners. I argue that the systematic integration of Ubuntu principles – respect & dignity, interconnectedness and solidarity - into the foundational norms of healthcare ethics yields a philosophically coherent and culturally grounded framework. Through this dissertation I highlight the importance of including Ubuntu into professional healthcare ethics and I show that this integration will result in an indigenously formulated ethical framework that will work towards creating a communal, and harmonious healthcare environment for patients. The implications of this integration are that healthcare practitioners will be ethically compelled to conduct themselves in a way that affirms the intrinsic worth of patients, the patient -practitioner relations will be strengthened, and healthcare services will carry on beyond clinical settings – signifying commitment to communal duty.