Everyone has the right of access to health care services and medical treatment, including access to affordable medicines and proper medical care. The right to access to health care services includes the right to proper care from a health care worker, which means it is against the law for a health care worker to:

• Refuse to treat a person because they have HIV
• Treat people with HIV differently to other patients.

If a hospital or clinic refuses to treat someone living with HIV/AIDS, they can be reported to the Department of Health, the Public Protector, the South African Human Rights Commission or Legal Aid South Africa. The case can also be taken to the High Court, which can review and cancel the hospital’s decision to refuse to provide treatment. (See: Protecting Human Rights)

The right to health care includes the provision of medical treatment to people in need. The government has committed itself, as part of its strategic plan, to making anti-retroviral treatment available to all people who have reached a certain stage of their illness. A doctor must medically certify a person who wants to receive anti-retroviral treatment.