2 November 2006
The Health Department of the Gauteng province has conducted interviews with
the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of the 14 hospitals where our complement of
389 interns have been allocated. Eight hospitals are within full compliance of
the 80 hour overtime limit set by the national Department of Health and the
Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA). We have been given the
assurance that all interns are being remunerated for overtime services
rendered.
The matter of the hours spent on overtime and the schedules of payment have
been addressed with the management of all hospitals. Where adjustments to the
overtime remuneration are required, these will be rectified with immediate
effect and all hospitals have been requested to carefully monitor the hours
spent on call in order to avoid overtime in excess of that considered
appropriate for interns by the HPCSA.
All hospitals have regular interactions with their groups of interns, mainly
through curators appointed specifically to address the conditions of employment
of interns. The HPCSA conducts regular inspections of all hospitals where
issues such as the hours on duty, overtime remuneration and the living
conditions of the interns are inspected. Where suggested remedial measures are
not implemented, hospitals are at risk of losing their accreditation status
which allows interns to be allocated to them.
The Gauteng Department of Health is committed to ensure that the service
provided by interns remain of a high quality and that their training needs are
met.
Enquiries:
Vusi Sibiya
Tel: (011) 355 3503
Cell: 082 330 1085
Issued by: Department of Health, Gauteng Provincial Government
2 November 2006
