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An ambulance of the wrong colour - Health professionals, human rights and ethics in South Africa, Edited by Laurel Baldwin-Ragaven, Jeanelle de Gruchy and Leslie London Published by UCT Press (1999, 246 pages)
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) stands as a milestone in South AfricaOs political history for many reasons, let alone the integral role it played in facilitating the transition to a democratic social order. It serves as an inspiration to those who scrutinise and chronicle the human rights record of the country. In An ambulance of the wrong colour, BaldwinRagaven et al. focus on the ethical problems afflicting the health sector in South Africa. The book has its origins in the Health and Human Rights Project (HHRP) Submission to the TRC Institutional Hearings on the Health Sector, which were held in June 1997.
The written contributions received for the HHRP Submission form an integral part of the book. However, the editors were no doubt left with the difficult task of integrating these, along with other research work, into a coherent and accessible study that addressed a much wider audience. The editors have the necessary experience that enabled them to fulfil this task admirably. Laurel Baldwin-Ragaven and Jeanelle de Gruchy are both medical doctors and former research fellows...