Doctor exodus in Free State is the worst

THE NUMBER of doctors working in public health in the Free State has plunged from 716 in 2014 to just 539 this year – an unprecedented loss of 177.

The province has also lost 28 medical specialists over the past year. This is according to the Personal and Salary Administration System (Persal), the Treasury’s central system that pays public sector workers, quoted in the Health Systems Trust’s annual SA Health Review released last night.

The Free State now has 23.3 doctors per 100 000 patients. Its doctors in primary healthcare facilities have the worst workload rate in the country. A doctor in the Xhariep district (Trompsburg) is expected to treat 55 patients a day, while the provincial average is 32 patients a day. The national average is 27 patients a day.

The Free State also has one of the worst maternal mortality rates (MMR) in the country (217.8 deaths per 100 000 births), beaten to the bottom only by the Northern Cape (254.1 deaths per 100 000).

The province’s MMR has risen sharply from 143 deaths per 100 000 last year. Maternal mortality is a good indicator of the standard of care a woman gets while in labour.

Earlier this year, doctors working in the province appealed to the SA Human Rights Commission to investigate the “dire conditions” in public health under the leadership of MEC Benny Malakoane.

In a letter published by GroundUp (http://groundup.org.za/features/freestatehealth/freestate health.html) in February, the doctors detailed a collapse in care in hospitals around the province.

“At Dihlabeng Hospital, a total of four medical officers will remain in March, down from 20 in 2012.