Health plan to plug brain drain

2004-11-19 09:53

Marida Fitzpatrick

Johannesburg - The health department is considering helping doctors and other health workers to pay their study debts in an effort to plug the brain drain.

This is one of the plans presented on Thursday at a departmental workshop with human resources as the theme.

Dr Percy Mahlati, deputy director-general of health, said the number of professional health workers leaving South Africa for developed countries was still on the increase.

According to Mahlati, between 100 and 150 doctors left South Africa annually.

Between 400 and 500 nurses were exchanging South Africa for greener pastures every year, he said.

Especially students from previously white universities were less inclined to stay on.

Mahlati said many of the young doctors who opted for overseas employment did so in an effort to pay their study debts.

Hospitals might be able to help

"It is for this reason that we want try and find a possible scheme to help these people meet their debt obligations."

According to Mahlati, the department was still investigating the feasibility of such a plan.

"It will, of course, have a huge financial impact, but we are seriously considering it."

The strategy could entail a provincial hospital paying half of a doctor's debt in lieu for an undertaking that the doctor would work at the hospital for a number of years.

According to Mahlati, several provincial hospitals and individual doctors already had proposed such a repayment scheme to the department.

The workshop continues on Friday when representatives of various associations, unions and academics will pay attention to other aspects such as bad distribution of health workers, especially in rural areas.

- Beeld