Health crisis but here’s why graduate doctors still sit at home unemployed

Minister of Health Dr Joe Phaahla has attributed the high number of unemployed doctors who have successfully completed the statutory community service program to budgetary constraints and an excess of medical graduates in the field.

According to the SA Medical Association Trade Union (Samatu), there are more than 1000 qualified doctors in the country who are unemployed at present.

Dr Phaahla held the public briefing to address the ongoing public outcry around this, after a number of qualified doctors affiliated to unions staged a protest in Tshwane last month, where they marched from Heartfelt Arena in Thaba Tshwane, Pretoria, to hand over a memorandum of demands to the Minister of Health.

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Dr Phaahla accepted the memorandum and delivered his response on Monday.

Challenges

“As the department, and as part of this government, we really wish a situation where all graduates who have completed the statutory requirements of internship and community service, can get immediate employment in the public health sector.

“But there are a number of challenges in that regard. However, the opportunities are also there,” he said.

The minister mentioned budgetary restraints as the first obstacle, limiting the department from taking on new hires.

“Provinces face challenges due to budgetary constraints, with increasing pressure on healthcare budgets. The rising cost of employment, including salaries, poses a significant challenge, making it difficult for provinces to allocate funds for new positions,” he explained.

He also said that the healthcare sector had complex salary structures, including overtime benefits, which contribute to a high salary bill.

Overtime

“Overtime is often considered an essential part of a doctor’s responsibilities, adding to the overall cost of employment. Anomalies in salary categorisation further complicate matters,” he said.

He also said that the influx of qualified doctors seeking employment puts pressure on the available positions, making it challenging to accommodate everyone.

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He explained that while there were 1470 interns in 2018, there were 2365 interns at the start of 2023.

Posts identified

But he said that since the protests, they have managed to identify posts to fill.

“We have been working with all the provincial departments who are also engaging their own provincial treasuries in terms of making sure that there are opportunities.

“So as we speak now, across provinces we’ve been able to find 239 posts which are already out there for the uptake. Gauteng has quite a number of those, as well as the Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga,” he said.

He added that the provinces also indicated that there will possibly be just under 400 more posts made available in the next few months as they reorganise their finances.