Red tape needs to be removed

We realise Covid-19 has stretched our hospital resources and healthcare workers to the core. The stories detailing the crazy amount of hours they put in, and the lengths they are pushing themselves to accommodate ill patients, is commendable. They are super heroes. We will forever be grateful.

We can only imagine the sacrifices doctors, nurses and all emergency services have made to “to treat the ill to the best of one’s ability”. It can’t be easy. Doctors, nurses and emergency staff have families, sick ones and people that rely on them. But day-in, day-out they are at the frontline of the fight against Covid ... they are in the trenches. They put the public first, themselves and their families second.

With this in mind, reports of doctors being sidelined by red tape is concerning. Last Wednesday The Citizen ran a lead story “Red tape keeps doctors at home” and on Saturday we led with “Foreign-trained docs sit idle”. Both stories detail how available doctors are being snubbed.

In a nutshell our lead story said new doctors needed in the fight against Covid-19 are languishing at home due to delays in Health Professions Council of SA’s registration and placement. At least 250 interns are waiting for placement in KwaZulu-Natal, with the rest of the country also lagging.

In Saturday Citizen: “The country needs as many healthcare workers as possible to fight Covid-19 but the number of doctors not used because of red tape is growing: apart from about 250 interns not being placed by government, another 380 who studied overseas are now also shelved.”

We certainly have to safeguard against bogus doctors, and no corner should be cut in doing so. However, numerous reports detailing how short-staffed hospitals are, and how beds are running out at hospitals as Covid numbers surge, are concerning.

These are desperate times. We need all hands on deck. We can’t afford for red tape to trip up any efforts to serve the public.