The Health Professions Council of South Africa's (HPCSA) handling of internship appointments has again been slammed, and legal action threatened, in letters sent last week to the Presidency and the Department of Health (DoH).
The South African Internationally Trained Health Professionals Association (SAITHPA), which represents overseas-trained South African doctors wanting to practise medicine locally, called it a “national disgrace” that members’ attempts were being deliberately “hindered” by the authorities, yet the process was “seamless” for non-nationals, reports Sunday Tribune.
The letters were sent by Advocate Rene Govender, the SAITHPA’s legal desk chairperson.
Overseas trained doctors can only practise in this country if their credentials are verified by the HPCSA. They must then write an HPCSA facilitated board exam comprising theory and practical components. Passing makes them eligible for internships at medical facilities and community service, a must for South African practitioners of medicine.
Since its formation in 2018 to assist overseas-trained doctors get recognition, the SAITHPA has won various court battles against the HPCSA. Their most significant victory was this month when it successfully challenged, in the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria), various HPCSA rules, regulations and requirements stifling members’ ambition to work in the country. The contested issues included the requirements the HPCSA set for SAITHPA members to qualify for a board exam seat, the exam format, fairness and marking of scripts, and denial of opportunity to some doctors to write the exams.
In the letter to the Health Department, the SAITHPA asked that it provide “cogent” reasons why their overseas-trained members who passed the board exams were not handed internship posts, considering the country’s shortage of doctors.
The DoH’S newly released process management format for internships was also questioned. Candidates for internship were asked to choose from a list of public healthcare facilities where they preferred to be posted.
But the SAITHPA said some members whose applications for internship were lodged at the beginning of the year are yet to receive attention.
It noted that the DoH’S recent mid-year intake of interns opened on 24 June and closed three days later, and the start date of employment was 1 July.
“The DOH requires interns to be registered in relevant categories of internship before an employment offer is made. But the HPCSA acts only when the candidate has secured an offer of employment and their administrative processes usually take three to four weeks,” said Govender, “and by that time the employment offer would lapse.”
In 2018, she said, the DoH initiated guidelines for the HPCSA regarding the registration of overseas-trained doctors but that has not been adhered to.
She said last week, one of her members was allocated a Durban hospital for internship, but sought her assistance after being told by DoH staff that the post would be “given away” if the HPCSA’S registration letter was not completed and handed to them.
When the intern approached the HPCSA about the registration, she was told it would take 21 days.
The SAITHPA gave the DoH seven days for a response or they would pursue urgent court action.
Similarly, the HPCSA was given the same terms and conditions.
To the President, Govender wrote: “It is a national disgrace that doctors who obtained qualifications internationally, after successfully completing the South African board examinations find further hindrances disabling their right to practise their profession in their birth country, while non-nationals are seamlessly integrated into our health system.”
She challenged the President to disclose how many non-nationals were registered and employed in the health services, details of agreements signed to provide employment to non-nationals, and audited financial records showing the amounts spent on non-nationals.
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
SA’s foreign-trained doctors score legal victory against HPCSA
DoH’s ‘reckless’ failure to place junior doctors aggravates medical emigration
More than 100 foreign-trained doctors take HPCSA to court over registration