Emigration threatens health sector
2002-10-23 20:52
Johannesburg - Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang on Wednesday said the
continued emigration of medical practicioners, including doctors,
nurses and specialists, posed a significant threat to both the
private and public spheres of the health sector.
"We believe that if there is a major - and insidious - threat
to our overall health effort, it is the continued outward migration
of key health professionals, particularly professional nurses, with
a consequent de-skilling of the professional base in both the
public and private sector," Tshabalala-Msimang said in a statement.
She added that health workers and professionals were the most
critical resource in the delivery of health care.
"Their movement between rural and urban areas, public and the
private health sector and across our borders is bound to impact on
service delivery."
For this reason, she said, her department was taking steps to
ensure that sufficient personnel was recruited and retained in the
health sector to enable it to provide quality health care within
the public sector and particularly in underserved and rural areas.
Community service
"We are extending community service to cover all health
professions and many of the community service professionals are
deployed in historically disadvantaged areas. The programme
covering doctors, dentists and pharmacists is already meeting its
objectives.
"Starting from next year, we will be phasing in radiographers,
speech and hearing therapists, occupational therapists,
environmental health officers, dieticians, psychologists and
physiotherapists ending with the professional nurses by 2007.
"This should make available a pool of thousands of health
professionals who can assist in providing health services mainly in
historically underserved or disadvantaged areas," she explained.
"The 254 students we sent to study medicine in Cuba are
completing their studies and the first group has already returned
to South Africa. These young people will serve in the public sector
for the equal number of years they have spent studying. They are
students from historically disadvantaged communities who will get a
wonderful opportunity to come back and serve their communities as
doctors," she added.
Global solution
"Since migration of health professionals is an international
problem facing many of the developing countries, we have also
sought global solution to this challenge. At the World Summit on
Sustainable Development, we spoke strongly against the recruitment
of our health professionals to the developed countries.
"We have also developed a Code of Conduct for Recruitment of
Health Professionals for the Commonwealth of Nations.
This
initiative should at least address the challenge of movement of
personnel amongst Commonwealth member states," Tshabalala-Msimang
said.
- SAPA