Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize informed Parliament that a national database of unemployed health professionals has been compiled to address the shortage of infectious disease specialists, as well as fast track the issuing of work visas to foreign health professionals and expedite their registration to allow them to practise in the country.
In a written reply to a question from the Democratic Alliance, Mkhize said the department “further captured medical interns and community service personnel, who are completing their statutory obligations and will soon be available for surge deployment either on a temporary or full-time basis”.
Business Day reports that Mkhize has come under fire for bringing in about 200 Cuban medical professionals at a cost of R440m a year. At the time, the SA Medical Association said there were plenty of unemployed and retired doctors in SA who could have been recruited by the government before it turned to Cuba. It said SA had more than 15,000 doctors in the private sector, most of whom wanted to be involved but did not have an entry portal.
In his reply, Mkhize said his department has added more foreign health professionals to its database who intend to practise their trade in SA.
“Discussions are currently [being] held with the department of home affairs to assist in fast tracking visas as well as with professional councils to address professional registration and agree on temporary licensing arrangements as an emergency mechanism. These cadres could be deployed across provinces to relieve the surge demands,” the minister said.
The nine provincial health departments had placed recruitment adverts for additional health workers across various categories on a contractual basis ranging from six to 12 months, Mkhize said. The targeted groups included bursary holders who recently completed training, unemployed health professionals and retired health professionals.
IN reply to a question by DA MP Hildegard Boshoff about the deployment of the Cuban doctors and their subsistence and travel expenditure costs to each province, Mkhize said: “There is no special arrangement for the Cuban health brigade transportation to get to their workplaces. They are incorporated into teams that include SA health professionals across provinces and they all are transported with government vehicles where they are required to travel to areas away from the facilities where they are stationed,” he said.
Responding to a separate question from the Economic Freedom Fighters on the purchase orders for Covid-19 test kits, Mkhize revealed that most of these were sourced from the US. Other suppliers are based in China, South Korea and Switzerland. Just more than 42,000 test kits had been ordered to date. “Test kits are mostly ordered weekly, based on the number of kits that suppliers have available and are able to import into the country,” Mkhize said.
[link url="https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/national/health/2020-08-23-health-department-seeks-to-speed-up-work-visas/"]Full Business Day report[/link]