SAMATU slams Health Department over unemployed doctors 

Dozens of South African doctors who have completed their compulsory community service remain unemployed, according to the Junior Doctors Committee of the South African Medical Association Trade Union (SAMATU).

SAMATU has criticised the government departments for failing to absorb these qualified professionals into the public health system.

In a statement issued by SAMATU, the union said it is “profoundly frustrated regarding the ongoing and unacceptable situation of unemployed doctors who have completed their community service.”

It accused the Department of Health of longstanding neglect of the issue.

“It is nothing short of paradoxical that the very government entrusted with upholding our constitutional rights blatantly disregards the fundamental human right to accessible, quality healthcare for the citizens of this country,” the union said.

SAMATU said a survey circulated to 1 260 doctors who have completed their community service shows “a shared sense of despair and helplessness” among doctors who cannot find work, with some unemployed for over two years.

The union’s statement said there are approximately 1 100 unfilled posts for medical doctors nationwide.

SAMATU’s statement criticised what it called “divide and conquer tactics”, including distinctions between bursary and non-bursary holders, which the union says detracts from addressing wider staffing needs. The union wrote that “each provincial department of health operates in a fractured manner, with little coordination or cohesive strategy, resulting in a chaotic environment where doctors and patients alike suffer the consequences.