Out of the 800 unemployed doctors who recently petitioned the National Department of Health for jobs, just 270 have been appointed across the country, despite promises that funding would be made available for them to be hired.
According to the Health Ministry, the “process of advertising and recruitment of health professionals is ongoing” – but this is small comfort to those who are still desperate for jobs
Spokesperson Foster Mohale told Weekend Argus “more appointments will be announced in instalments”, and that funding was also an issue still being ironed out.
“We had to first activate vacant unfunded posts and identify facilities where there is a need for more health professionals to meet the demands for service,” he said.
Earlier this year, Health Minister Joe Phaahla had announced hundreds of unemployed doctors who had completed their community service training would be employed – by April – after marches and protests around the issue, and that Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana would work it out in the budget.
But time is running out, and on Monday, a group of unemployed doctors marched to the local health offices in Bhisho, Eastern Cape, vowing to camp there until resolutions are met.
They said they had not yet had any communication from the department, reports Daily Dispatch.
One of the group, Dr Sandiso Yekani, said their most recent list of unemployed doctors, including dentists, stood at 140 in the province.
Yekan said they had marched in February because it was clear the government had absolutely no plans to create work opportunities.
“We asked them to employ us and they said they would reply within 14 working days – but they didn’t.
“No plans were in place, and no efforts (were made) to try to mitigate the issues.”
Dr Sinengomso Xuma said the department’s responses had been inconsistent.
They had been told there was only R78m set aside to employ them.
“But we have a contractual obligation with the province. We are supposed to render services equal to the number of years we were funded.
“When you are a bursary holder and you are in a contract, they do not allow you to apply elsewhere.”
Samatu provincial secretary Dr Zukiswa Gonya said that after a meeting with the provincial Health Department in February, the doctors were promised they would be hired at the beginning of the new financial year (April).
“Most of them are bursary contractual beneficiaries – this comes with obligations to serve the Eastern Cape, which is mostly rural.”
Gonya said this was not the first time that this had happened, that it was an annual problem, affecting not just the livelihoods of doctors, but services and the community.
Promises and funding cuts
Michele Clarke, DA shadow minister of health, said despite all promises, the unemployment figures remained high.
“Vows that the National Budget would provide funding for these 800 doctors countrywide have proved to be baseless,” she added.
“Vacancy rates remain high, while overtime pay for medical personnel faces drastic cuts. With our healthcare system already on its knees, there will be further staff shortages, particularly during night shifts, weekends, and public holidays, when casualties tend to increase.”
Budget constraints are also stifling the chances of jobs for hundreds of foreign nationals with healthcare degrees, despite the country’s desperate shortage of personnel, according to Health Minister Joe Phaala.
Business Day reports that hardly any community service posts have been allocated to foreign nationals who have graduated with health science degrees since 2019, Phaala wrote in response to DA MP Madeleine Hicklin.
“Due to limited funded posts, most of them could not be placed,” Health Department spokesperson Foster Mohale said.
The February budget included an extra R3.7bn for 2024/25 to tackle the immediate crisis, but provinces will remain under pressure over the medium term expenditure framework, with limited scope to hire personnel.
Altogether 158 foreign nationals applied for internship or community service positions (ICSPs) in 2024, but none was hired. Almost a third (43) were pharmacy graduates needing community service posts and 48 were for internships in medicine or pharmacy.
Applicants included graduates in fields as diverse as audiology, physiotherapy and diagnostic radiography.
Last year, the Health Department received 343 applications for community service and internship placements from foreign nationals, down from 362 in 2022. There were 520 applications in 2021, 409 in 2020, and 435 the year before. Many people re-appled in the hope of securing an ICSP position, but in the six years to 2024, only two succeeded.
The government had prioritised South Africans over foreign nationals as it hadn’t budgeted for the growth in medical graduates from local universities or students sent to Cuba for medical training, said Shabir Madhi, dean of the faculty of health sciences at Wits.
“The tragedy is many of these graduates are keen to … practise here, but are unable to do so without fulfilling (statutory council) registration requirements… paradoxical, considering the recognised shortage of doctors, as well as doctors being a scarce skill set eligible to apply for work permits,” he said.
Mohale said the foreign national allocated a post in 2019 had been funded by their country of origin, and a second was allocated a post in 2023 because they applied and started work in September when there was a post available.
“When foreign nationals apply to study in SA they are well aware it is not an automatic entry into the workforce, hence their status is that of study permit holders. Foreign nationals who graduate with health professional degrees become a resource for their countries of origin and may return to practise there,” he said.
Business Day – Budget constraints stymie foreigners’ hopes of health careers in SA
IOL article – 270 doctors employed nationally out of the 800 unemployed professionals (Open access)
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
About-turn as Phaahla says jobless doctors will be hired – by April
Doctors without jobs as health purse tightens
Jobless healthcare workers march to Union Buildings
Not our job to place young doctors, says Health Department