Junior doctors in rural hospitals unimpressed by 'filthy, broken' accommodation

The placement of junior doctors remains a headache as their discomfort has spilt into complaints about living conditions in their lodgings once placed in rural facilities. 

Amid the grievances, the national health department announced that 2,101 eligible community service personnel and 2,210 medical interns had been placed at various facilities across the country as of last week.

However, about 220 applicants for community service doctors were not eligible to commence duty in January 2024 due to starting their internship late and will only be allocated posts later in the year.

A junior doctor who was placed in the North West told TimesLIVE they were given accommodation that was not well-resourced or furnished and often ran out of water.

“It’s far from the hospital and shops. Because it’s rural you can’t really get a place in the village, options are few. Load-shedding is a problem nationwide so you make do but the water often runs out and we have to collect it in buckets, even if you had a long shift and are tired.

“There’s a shower and geyser but the water is not always hot,” said the junior, who did not want to be named.

According to the department, 53 eligible community service doctors did not start their duties because they rejected posts for a number of reasons, including location. They have since lodged appeals.

“The department is attending to all appeals and the outcomes will be communicated to each appellant in due course,” said the department.

Another junior said he had applied to continue his studies in the meantime and the prospects of being placed this year seemed dim.

He said the situation hindered professional development and was mentally and emotionally trying, as it closed job opportunities in government. “For instance, even if there are posts for environmental health practitioners in a hospital or a municipality, at the moment others are placed for community service.

“One cannot apply without having done public community service,” said the junior.

A number of doctors under hashtag #UnemployedDoctors2024 laid bare their struggles with accommodation across the country. One posted pictures of filthy and dilapidated lodgings.

Another doctor, placed in a hospital in rural Limpopo, said: “The state of the accommodation was terrible when we arrived, and none of us [chose] it [this hospital]  to work at. Aside from the accommodation, the hospital is severely understaffed as only five out of the 11 community service doctors allocated to the hospital pitched up,” said the doctor, who asked not to be named. 

“This means we have only eight doctors (five community service doctors and three medical officers including the clinical manager) running a district hospital of 270 beds. We feel that this is deeply compromising the quality of care we are providing for our patients, with dire consequences,” he added. 

Dr Angelique Coetzee of the South African Medical Association said though they sympathised with the doctors, there was no clear obligation for provinces to provide accommodation for community service doctors.

“A lot would need to find their own accommodation [but] some provinces might give them housing. They need to look at the province's policy regarding accommodation.

“Sometimes the province tries to help them,” she said.

TimesLIVE