Crisis rises over junior doctors

THE junior doctors crisis is expected to deepen as more students searching for placements are set to land in the province.

Yesterday, Health MEC Nomafrench Mbombo met medical schools in the province alongside the head of the Health Department, Beth Engelbrecht, to discuss the training of young doctors and professionals.

“We only become interested in the demand, yet we don’t even look at supply. Working with universities, we become aware of what the projections are as the Western Cape produces about 30% of medical doctors who must supply the country.”

She said by working with the universities early on, the department is able to determine the pressure that more junior doctors would add to the system, especially since doctors trained in Cuba will return.

“We didn’t have a good experience with the national Department of Health. It was immensely frustrating for those of us who didn’t have access to the system,” she said.

The discussion yesterday focused on the imminent return in July of young South Africans who are educated at Cuban medical schools.

“We see a process improving, we are hopeful. Now we are going to be increasing the number of graduating medical doctors based on the students who trained in Cuba,” the dean of UCT’s health science faculty, Bongani Mayosi, said.

Around 700 students are expected to arrive next month. Mayosi said that planning as to how to accommodate them has to start now.