South Africa has more trained doctors than ever, but state hospitals are still understaffed, with the South African Medical Association (Sama) saying there are 1,800 newly qualified doctors desperate to specialise in the public sector, who can’t find jobs.
Sama says the issue is not a lack of money but how the health budget is managed — and that corruption is eating up huge chunks of available funds.
The health department says it must balance doctor salaries with other costs, such as overtime, while waiting for the National Health Insurance scheme to bring efficiency to the system.
In the interim, efforts are under way to train specialists privately: the Health Beat team examines a partnership between Wits University and the Donald Gordon Medical Centre in Joburg.
This story was produced by the Bhekisisa Centre for Health Journalism. Sign up for the newsletter.
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