As the year draws to a close, many newly qualified junior doctors will be compelled to join the unemployment queue after completing their statutory internship and community service. This is after sacrificing nine years of their adult lives to improve public health in South Africa.
The unemployment of newly qualified South African junior doctors has become a thorny issue. Due to budgetary constraints, the number of junior doctors unemployed after community service was; 288 in 2021 and 694 in 2022.
Records indicate that South African medical schools produce approximately 2,000 –2,300 medical doctors annually, with the University of Cape Town, the University of the Witwatersrand, and Pretoria University, each producing 200 to 250 graduates with the remaining seven medical schools, each producing less than 200 graduates.
The crisis is compounded by a lack of funding and inefficiencies in recruitment processes, despite the critical need for medical doctors in underserved areas. Doctors are expected to apply for posts as independent practitioners after community service, but the availability of such positions is limited.
The crisis was further exacerbated by South Africa employing Cuban doctors through a bilateral agreement established in 1996 between Nelson Mandela and Fidel Castro. The purpose of this partnership was 1). to address the gaps in the country's healthcare system by importing Cuban doctors to serve in underserved areas to strengthen primary healthcare services, and 2). to train South African medical students in Cuba.
The salaries of Cuban doctors are substantial, with packages ranging between R1.2 million and R1.64 million annually.
For example, Gauteng alone spends R14 million per year for 11 Cuban doctors. Nationally, the costs have reached over R30 million in certain years, drawing criticism over resource allocation amidst the unemployment of local doctors. The latter amount could have covered the salaries of at least 35 junior doctors!
The exact annual number of Cuban doctors varies. During the COVID-19 pandemic, about 190 Cuban doctors were deployed. More recent figures show that specific provinces like Gauteng employ approximately 11-14 Cuban doctors at a time, but nationwide deployments are broader and tied to the treaty agreement.
It is understood that the funds appropriated by Cuban doctors could be better used to employ unemployed South African doctors, who face challenges in finding work in the public sector despite being locally trained.
Isn’t it time to terminate the Nelson Mandela-Fidel Castro Medical Collaboration Programme given the large number of unemployed junior doctors trained locally?
You be the judge.
ADIEL ISMAIL | Mountview
The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media or IOL.
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