Article published in the MediBrief December 2016 issue:
Chairman's year-end greetings
Looking back on 2016, I am pleased to report that, from a member perspective, we believe the Scheme has been able to deliver an excellent service over the year. It was the first time in several years that all our service providers continuously delivered on, or exceeded our very stringent service levels. The volume of member complaints declined significantly over the past year and the number of enquiries received from the Council for Medical Schemes, which generally relate to healthcare practitioner claims queries, dropped considerably. From the variety of surveys that were conducted, none highlighted any pressing bottlenecks, problems or shortcomings. The Scheme is cognisant of the fact that, in a complex industry such as healthcare, some errors and minor administrative glitches may occur. I thank all our members who have taken the time and trouble to point them out to us – your participation enables us to continuously improve our service to you.
2016 was also a year of change. We said goodbye to four of our Trustees, Dave Barber, the Scheme's past chairman, retired after 14 years of service to the Scheme, Dr Frank Fox retired after serving many years as an alternate Trustee and the last 5 years as a full Trustee, Marcelle Graham, who first became involved with the Scheme in 1994, will be leaving at the end of December and Matthew Welz, a relatively new Trustee, left Anglo American at the end of October. To all of you, a heartfelt vote of thanks for numerous hours of advice, guidance and leadership often completely unrewarded. While your wisdom will be missed, we are grateful for the legacy you have left behind. It will endure for decades to come. We welcome the new Trustees, David Abramowitz and Bridget van der Bijl, as well as two familiar faces, Mary Farrell and Gavin Preston, who will be serving out the balance of the term until the next election. We look forward to working with you in the future.
All the best to our members and their families for a joyful festive season and a healthy 2017.
Very best wishes
Colleen Elliott
Chairman