Cape Town – More than 80 community service doctors in Limpopo have reportedly been left idle due to the failure of the provincial health department to assign them to hospitals.
According to The Citizen, the 82 doctors received allocation letters from the national health department in June, stating they were assigned to Limpopo for the mid-year circle of the Internship and Community Service Programme.
However, they were not able to start work on July 1 as planned.
Limpopo, a rural province, is already facing a severe shortage of doctors for its healthcare facilities, the report said.
The doctors awaiting placement are feeling afraid, frustrated, and disillusioned, uncertain about their employment status and salary payments.
“I came here with my family, hoping by 1 July I will start working… But six days down the line, I am no longer sure I have a job,” the report quoted one of the doctors who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of victimisation.
“The department is not being straight with us,” she said. “It can’t tell on whether or not we will be paid at the end of the month for sitting, doing nothing,” another doctor said.
Both the Limpopo and national health departments have not provided reasons for the delay.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
