Community Service to improve health serrvices to rural areas

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this has reduced the number to 74 foreign applications.

Community service

Minister Motsoaledi said the main objective of community service was to ensure improved provision of health services to the rural and underserved areas of South Africa.

In the process this also provided young health professionals with an opportunity to develop their skills, acquire knowledge, behavioural patterns and critical thinking that will help them in their professional development.

“Unfortunately because of the very rural nature of facilities selected for Community Service, they are not preferred by most doctors.”

He said the department had received a total of 1 064 applications for Community Service Medical Officers, made 1 064 offers, placed 1 057 applicants, while seven applicants declined placement. This, the Minister said, made a 100% placement in this category.

The Minister said there were 88 foreign nationals who had completed internship in South Africa and would like to continue with Community Service and 75 of them have been placed.

“The remaining 13 foreign nationals will still be placed as from today because there are places available for them, since we have completed placement of all South Africans who needed to be placed.”

Over 140 jobs available for Post-Community Service Doctors

The Minister said there was a misconception that the state had a statutory obligation to doctors who had completed community service, such as interns and those who were still doing Community Service.

“After completion of Community Service most doctors have various options. They may go back to university to specialise; they may go into private practice as general practitioners; or they may also enter anyone of the private health industry like a medical aid scheme, pharmaceuticals, company or any other industry.

“Unfortunately others may opt to leave the country or leave the profession altogether. When they do all these, they have no obligation to inform the Department of Health, so we have no way of knowing them or their numbers.”

However, the Minister said, if these doctors wished to remain in the public sector, the department had at least 147 posts available for them.

Pharmacists

Minister Motsoaledi said about 795 pharmacists had applied for community service, of whom 716 were South Africans and who had all been offered positions.

However, the minister said three had declined offers, and the remaining 79 were foreign nationals.

“We have identified 108 positions in which all of them can perform their community service.

“This year, we have even created a new stream of community service positions in collaboration with the private sector, through the Centralised Chronic Medicine Dispensing and Distribution Programme (CCMDDP),” Motsoaledi said.

– SAnews.gov.za