Cape Town — Minister of Health Aaron Motsoaledi said that all 2 197 medical graduates in the class of 2024 were placed in an internship for 2025.
While the Minister was happy with these numbers, he was unable to give any solution to the estimated 1 800 doctors who were unable to fund placement in public healthcare facilities as opposition parties labelled the situation a crisis, EWN reported.
Employment and Labour Minister Nomakhozasana Meth said doctors were not an exception to having job scarcity and ActionSA’s Kgosi Letlape and the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) Karl le Roux offered solutions to Motsoaledi to solve the problem.
According to the Minister, the state spends R2 billion to internships for final year medical students, with a further R3 billion spent on compulsory community service programmes for graduates befire they can register to have an independent practice..
“In the past, there was no shortage of budget; that’s why people thought it was an absorption. Legally, there’s nothing like an absorption once you finish community service. I was not saying we must throw people away.”
Le Roux questioned whether community service should still be compulsory, while Letlape was hopeful the upcoming Budget Speech would make a provision for unemployed doctors.
According to SABC News, Motsoaledi said the government could not employ doctors full-time until they completed mandatory internships at public hospitals. He explained that an internship was a legal requirement before a doctor was eligible to practice in public healthcare institutions.
“When you finish medicine, you must complete an internship. During my time, it was one year, but it was later extended to two years to ensure more practical exposure. Without it, you cannot work. It is a statutory requirement. You may have the certificate, but without completing the internship, you cannot practice anywhere,” he said.
Motsoaledi also addressed concerns about unemployed medical interns, emphasizing that the law mandates the completion of this phase before full employment can be considered.
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
