Holding on to SA's health workers
11 June 2003
Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang says government has no wish to restrict the freedom of health workers who want to work abroad.
Addressing the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) in Cape Town on Tuesday, Tshabalala-Msimang said her department's concern was with the "exploitative recruiting tactics" of certain international operators.
She said government believed that the international movement of health workers could, to some extent, be managed to the mutual benefit of countries and individuals abroad.
Commonwealth health ministers adopted a code of ethics on the international recruitment of health workers at the World Health Assembly in Geneva last week, and South Africa intended to build on this foundation, Tshabalala-Msimang said.
In line with the code of ethics, South Africa would be seeking bilateral agreements with Australia, Britain, Canada and New Zealand. "We have already had extremely fruitful talks with
Britain’s minister of health, and a team led by the director-general (Ayanda Ntsaluba) will visit the United Kingdom this month to pursue discussions on this subject," Tshabalala-Msimang said.
On human resources in the public health sector, Tshabalala-Msimang said a special allocation of R500-million to assist provinces to recruit and retain health workers would lead to a system of allowances and – in a few categories – pay increases.
"These would top up the salaries already covered in provincial budgets for the year, but will not fund additional posts."
She said the new allowances would have a real impact in retaining skilled health workers, especially in rural areas, as well as attracting additional professionals to fill vacancies.
Currently, the minister said, there were at least 2 662 young professionals doing community service, contributing critically needed services in the public health sector. One out of seven doctors, one out of four pharmacists and
one out of two physiotherapists in the public health sector were doing community service, she said.
"These figures confirm the incredible value of community service to our nation. However, it is not satisfactory for us to depend so heavily on inexperienced personnel." For this reason, it would be worthwhile for community service professionals to spend a few more years in the sector.
The minister also cited the recent intergovernmental fiscal review, which revealed that between the end of 2001 and early 2003, provincial health departments actually recorded a 4.5 percent gain in doctors, while the loss of professional nurses amounted to a mere 0.5 percent.
Source: BuaNews
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