Dr James Butler is a neurologist consulting from Mediclinic Constantiaberg in Plumstead, Cape Town, and his listed core competency is epilepsy and epilepsy surgery. That specialisation matters for what you should have ready before you call.
Official contact channels
- Rooms: 021 797 2099 or 021 797 9960
- Physical address: Room 209B, Mediclinic Constantiaberg, Burnham Road, Plumstead 7800
- Postal address: PO Box 179, Plumstead 7800
Both numbers are published against the practice and neither is marked as a fax. No email address is published for the rooms, so the telephone is the route, and anything you need to send should be arranged on the call. Room 209B is inside the hospital building rather than at a separate address, so use the hospital entrance and hospital parking.
What this organisation provides
The listed specialities are neurology, with core competencies in epilepsy and epilepsy surgery and in evidence based medicine. The published qualifications are an MBChB from the University of Cape Town in 1988 and an FCP Neurology from the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa in 1995. He practises at Mediclinic Constantiaberg and has published patient facing material on living with epilepsy.
Two identifiers are published alongside those and both are worth noting down. The HPCSA registration number is MP0337331, which lets you confirm on the Health Professions Council register that a practitioner is registered and in good standing. The practice number is 0200002001322, which is what a medical scheme needs in order to authorise and to pay.
Address and operating information
For a first appointment with a neurologist, bring the referral if your plan requires one, a list of every medication and dose you currently take, and any previous scans or EEG reports rather than only the reports about them. If seizures are the reason for the visit, a written account of what happened, ideally from somebody who witnessed it, is more useful than your own recollection, because a person having a seizure cannot observe it. Note dates, duration and what preceded each episode.
Support and escalation routes
Epilepsy is one of the conditions on the Chronic Disease List, which means it is a Prescribed Minimum Benefit and a medical scheme must cover its diagnosis, treatment and medication, subject to the scheme protocols and designated service providers. That is a stronger entitlement than ordinary day to day benefits, so if you are told an epilepsy claim has exhausted a savings limit, ask specifically for it to be assessed as a Prescribed Minimum Benefit and register the condition on the scheme chronic programme.
Driving is the other practical consequence and it is a legal one rather than a medical courtesy. South African licensing requires that conditions affecting fitness to drive be disclosed, and epilepsy is among them, so discuss your situation with the specialist rather than deciding for yourself, and get the position in writing. Failing to disclose can affect both your licence and an insurance claim after an accident.
For a complaint about clinical care or professional conduct, the Health Professions Council of South Africa is the regulator, quoting the registration number above. A complaint about the hospital as a facility goes to the Office of Health Standards Compliance, with the Health Ombud for serious matters. A dispute about what a scheme paid or refused goes to the scheme first and then to the Council for Medical Schemes, which regulates schemes rather than doctors.
Sources
- Dr James Butler listing, Mediclinic Southern Africa: mediclinic.co.za/en/corporate/doctors/7/dr-james-butler.html
- Mediclinic Southern Africa: mediclinic.co.za
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