A group of unemployed doctors, who trained abroad, marched to the Union Buildings in Pretoria yesterday to complain they are yet to practise, despite completing their training.
Clad in scrubs, the group, made up of 250 junior doctors, said they were still waiting on dates from the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) to write the board exams that would enable them to start practising, News24 reports.
The SA Medical Association supported the doctors. After meeting at the Union Buildings, they marched to the HPCSA's offices to hand over a list of their grievances.
One of the doctors who studied in Russia, Nomathemba Tshabalala from Bethlehem in the Free State, said some had finished their studies in China, Russia, Mauritius and Italy.
"Most of us were sent to these universities by the Mpumalanga, Free State and Gauteng Provinces. We have not been integrated into the Health Department.
"When you train abroad, you write two board exams: theory and practical exams.
"We submitted our documents to the HPCSA, others in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023. However, we are still waiting for the date to write our board exams," added Tshabalala.
"The HPCSA should provide us with a board exam date or register us as interns. We are urging the national Health Department to intervene."
The group said they wanted equal treatment, similar to that of the doctors who studied medicine in South Africa or Cuba.
National health department spokesperson Foster Mohale said the department would see how it could assist the doctors.