DURBAN - MORE than 200 young medical doctors have been waiting anxiously to be placed for internships while the national Health Department splurged R83 million on Cuban doctors.
The doctors told the Daily News that they were awaiting placements for their internship for the mid-year cycle, where they are meant to start work from July 1, 2021. They had applied for placement in May 2021 and the Health Department, through its Internship Community Service Programme (ICSP) email, said allocations would be released on June 11, 2021. On said date, they were informed they would be placed in due course.
An email from ICSP Management sent on Friday stated that a National Health Council Technical Advisory Committee meeting would be held on Thursday where challenges would be addressed and feedback would be provided by end of business on Friday.
The doctors said the email was to stop them from inquiring, yet time was running out. It was possible that many of them would have to relocate to different cities and provinces.
One doctor, who did not want to be named, said it was “absolutely shocking” to hear that the department spent R83m on Cuban doctors.
“There are many others that wait years to be placed by the Department of Health to finish their compulsory internship and community service, without which they will not be able to practise medicine independently,” he said. “It is criminal to leave your own citizens sitting at home unable to work while millions are invested in foreigners.
“We have been made promises and those were never kept. It makes you feel despondent not being able to practice the skills we’ve spent years learning. In my case, I’ve been studying for nine years to become a doctor.”
He said he had taken out many student loans to become a doctor. Studying medicine was not a cheap venture, let alone having to fund two degrees.
“If we are not placed, it means I have to wait another six months in order to pay these loans off. The financial burden is hectic.”
Another doctor said she was “very disappointed” regarding the amount spent on Cuban doctors, because the department had known about them (local doctors) for a long time yet they decided to “invest in them instead of us”.
“Unemployment is depressing. The constant checking of emails and calls is stressful. The financial implications are very difficult for me as well. Buying airtime and data every day is not cheap. The possibility of six months of further unemployment is very scary for me. I have always wanted to help out at home, and it is very unfair to have my family have another mouth to feed for six months. It will have further financial implications on my family. I also have a student loan I have to pay soon. My family can’t carry that burden for me.”
Solidarity trade union spokesperson Morné Malan said they still maintained there was no justification for employing foreign labour where South Africans possess the necessary skills and knowledge to do certain work.
“That is amplified in our current situation where jobs are extremely scarce, and every vacancy being filled means another South African is out of work,” he said.
“The chief issue, however, does not relate to the Cuban doctors themselves as many of them are suitably qualified and skilled. The problem is that government continually seems to prioritise their commitments to countries such as Cuba above those towards South Africans.”
The South African Medical Association and Health Department had not commented at the time of publication.
Daily News