Jobs for doctors, pharmacists in SA minister

Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi says most medical doctors, including interns, shun rural facilities selected for community service.

The Minister was speaking recently at a media briefing in Pretoria on the employment status of doctors and pharmacists in South Africa.

This followed recent inquiries that the National Department of Health had received about doctors and pharmacists who could not get employment in the Public Service, because the government allegedly failed to place them into posts, or alternatively failed to create posts.

The Minister said there were two main lists of “unemployed” doctors frequently quoted by the media.

This included one by the Junior Doctors Association of South Africa (Judasa) and another by the National Healthcare Professions Association.

Interns

Minister Motsoaledi said doctors from medical schools around the country were placed on a two-year internship programme as part of their training.

He said a hospital must be accredited for a specific number of interns by the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) before it can take in candidates.

“Internship training is statutory, hence the state is obliged to place them in these accredited internship positions,” Motsoaledi said. However, an overwhelming number of newly qualified doctors preferred to do internship in mostly four cities: Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg and Pretoria.

“A few may opt for Port Elizabeth, East London and Kimberley.

“For this reason, we have decided on a system called Internship Community Service Placement Programme (ICSP) whereby interns apply centrally and are placed in various institutions by the National Department of Health,” said Motsoaledi.

He said South African medical schools trained locals and nationals from other countries around the world, especially from the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

He said the department had received a total of 1 499 medical internship applications, made a total of 1 498 offers, and placed about 1 476 interns.

However, the Minister also said 22 applicants had declined placement and one placement was pending. This made up a 99.9% placement of interns, according to the Minister.

“There are still 45 positions of internship available. These are the Bloemfontein Complex and Mofumahadi Manapo Mopedi hospital in the Free State, as well as the Nelson Mandela Academic hospital in Mthatha,” Motsoaledi said.

“… We have 89 foreign nationals who also applied and still need to be placed. While South Africans are worried about which doctor is placed in which job and who is not placed, we must be aware that other countries, especially our neighbours in SADC, have similar worries.

“Of the 89 foreign nation- als who have completed their medical studies in South Africa, most are from SADC. The reason that we did not place the 89 foreign students was that we needed to place all South Africans first because this is statutory.”

The Minister said his ministry is still corresponding with their [foreign nationals’] respective countries in terms of the Swaziland agreement. He said Lesotho has responded and requested that all its graduates be sent back home, and

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