17 May 2007
The Department of Health is making effort to address the challenge of a
shortage of doctors in the country which may arise as result of an increase in
the period of internship from one to two years in 2008.
The Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) took a decision that
the period of internship should be increased to two years to ensure that
doctors gain sufficient practical competencies to serve the South African
public before they qualify. This decision was endorsed by the Department of
Health.
There is ongoing collaboration between relevant stakeholders to ensure that
the situation is addressed as far as possible. Provincial departments of health
are assessing their service delivery needs and requirements to ensure that
services are not disrupted.
A number of recruitment and retention options are being considered to retain
doctors who are currently doing their one year community service.
There are also efforts to recruit doctors from abroad. One of such
initiatives is the recruitment of doctors from Tunisia. A high-level delegation
from the Tunisian Agency for Technical Co-operation is currently in the country
and will be visiting KwaZulu-Natal hospitals tomorrow as part of their
programme to inspect public health facilities with the aim of assisting in
recruiting Tunisian doctors to work in the underserved areas of South
Africa.
The delegation led by the Agency's Director-General Habib Ben Mansour will
visit Prince Mshiyeni Hospital in Umlazi, KwaZulu-Natal on tomorrow, 18 May and
proceed to Inkosi Albert Luthuli Hospital. They have already visited facilities
in Gauteng, Limpopo and Eastern Cape.
The Tunisian Agency for Technical Co-operation has a pool of more than 2 000
health professionals that are available to work in countries that have
co-operation agreements with Tunisia. South Africa has an existing health
co-operation agreement with Tunisia.
Enquiries:
Sibani Mngadi
Departmental Spokesperson
Cell: 082 772 0161
Issued by: Department of Health
17 May 2007
