Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang has ruled out compensating medical students for a proposed additional year of community service by sponsoring one year of their study debt.
The minister was responding in Parliament to Gerhard Koornhof, United Democratic Movement deputy leader, who asked in the light of the proposed increase of community service for medical students from one to two years, whether this compensation was envisaged.
The minister noted that community service was a one-year programme and it had not yet been increased. She pointed out that the Health Professions Council of South Africa regulated medical education and training and this council had recently resolved that all medical graduates of 2004 and subsequent years
”undergo a two-year internship programme starting in 2005”.
Asked whether her department was likely to influence this decision the minister said no but when the new regulations were published for public comment ”imputs from all levels of interest can be presented to the council”.
She said the departments of health and the South African military health services were the employers of the medical graduate interns during the community service year. They were paid at prescribed public service rates, she noted.
The minister said there were 4 136 vacant posts for doctors at state hospitals at present with 1 081 of these vacancies in the Eastern Cape and 813 in the Western Cape. Gauteng had a shortage of 718 and the KwaZulu Natal figure was 619. At the Talch hospital in KZN there was a shortage of 131 doctors. She
noted there was a freeze on public service appointments at present. – I-Net Bridge