You can also listen to this podcast at iono.fm.
advertisement
Continue reading below
Download the free LiSTN audio app on Google Play, Apple, or here.
Interview starts at 16:00
Jeremy Maggs: Now, Health Minister Joe Faala has announced that the government will hire hundreds of unemployed doctors who have completed community service training. He says the Minister of Finance (Enoch Godongwana) will provide more details when he presents the Budget in Parliament next Wednesday. So is this possible, this concept of employment, where are the risks? Where are the priorities?
Listen/Read: There are 800 doctors, but the government hospital does not employ them.
Joining me this time is Dr Mbuyisi Mzukwa, President of the South African Medical Association (Sama). Dr. Muzukwa, welcome. So how viable do you think the government's plans are, given the worrying statements made so far about lack of funding?
Mbuyisi Mzukwa: Well, as the South African Medical Association, we can only hope that the Minister is not just trying to make a political statement or campaign. We hope it's a genuine statement because we know it's young people looking for work.
But also, we knew that statements like this had been made in the past, but it never came to fruition.
However, as the South African Medical Association, we will follow up on these statements to ensure that the Minister delivers on his promises to the people.
Jeremy Maggs: Doctor, what do you think are the potential financial or other risks and difficulties associated with this employment plan, and if so, how do you suggest they be mitigated?
Mbuyisi Mzukwa: Well, one thing is that we need to make sure that the money that comes out of the Treasury is used efficiently by the Ministry of Health. Because he pointed out that in the past the funds were returned to the Treasury. Local spending shortfalls. That's one thing, but I think local regions need to demonstrate their ability in terms of using money efficiently.
Read: Western Cape's biggest hospital warns of hiring freeze
The other thing is, I don't believe this is sustainable, so I don't think we should just look at what's happening right now in the Ministry of Health. We may also need to look to the private sector in terms of getting the primary health sector into the community and making this sustainable. Otherwise, if you look at the numbers we get from medical schools every year, this may become unsustainable if we rely on the state.
Jeremy Maggs: What concerns do you have about sustainability? Is it capacity, control, or money?
Mbuyisi Mzukwa: It's a combination of factors, Jeremy, because if you look at the reports that the Health Ombud and many other bodies have published on the challenges of the health system, they mention leadership and governance as the number one challenge. . . However, the other issue was that there were problems with the placement of executives, and it was discovered that the organization was staffed with people who did not have the ability to lead.
Read: Call to stop 'catastrophic' health budget cuts
So finance is only one part of it, but the main part is that we have these problems, but also the inefficiencies and corruption that exist within the system that I mentioned earlier. Therefore, these must be taken into account when attempting to overhaul the health system.
Jeremy Maggs: So let's talk a little bit about the local side of this dynamic. It is important to influence maximum ability. So how do these departments integrate new employees into the system by the target date and ensure that new employees are up and running and ready to serve?
Mbuyisi Mzukwa: I think the most important thing for local areas is planning. Jeremy, I realized that the system was poorly planned. For example, if you look at what is happening in rural areas, students are being taken overseas and dumped there because it is not financially sustainable. So I think things like that need to be fixed.
advertisement
Continue reading below
Second, when a country plans, it cannot be fragmented. Each prefecture is taking its own initiatives. The central government is doing its own thing. This is a system and requires cooperation from the Ministry of Health, including the private sector. I think that wherever there is health care provision, all governments should recognize that sector.
But what needs to happen now is to allow the states to provide leadership and governance. They need to make sure that resources are available, especially in rural areas, and that the posts there are staffed.
Jeremy Maggs: How do you know if the young doctors who might be placed in these areas have enough motivation and dedication?
Mbuyisi Mzukwa: First of all, it is always important to look at the work environment. As you know, the working environment has serious challenges such as broken equipment and insufficient human resources. These issues are important when supporting the work of healthcare workers. Because healthcare workers cannot actually provide quality medical services. We have these support structures, support technology, and more.
So you need to make sure that the X-rays and MRIs are working, but you also need to make sure that there is sufficient security in those areas.
However, the health of healthcare workers is also taken into account. These are not robots. These are humans. You need to take good care of it.
These Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) need to be reinstated to help young doctors with mental health issues and ensure they can advance their careers.
Jeremy Maggs: Despite your concerns, is it safe to say that if optimally deployed, these physicians could have a positive impact on the overall quality and accessibility of health services?
Mbuyisi Mzukwa: Absolutely, Jeremy, if you look at the reports from the World Health Organization (WHO), you'll see that 90% of universal health coverage interventions occur at the primary health care level.
Therefore, by injecting population into these areas, we are already advancing the goal of universal health coverage.
So if we can get doctors in these areas, I'm sure it will be a very good plan considering whether the plan will be implemented or not. If it is not implemented, it will become a mere promise that is useless not only to doctors but also to the entire nation.
Jeremy Maggs: We have expressed a number of concerns regarding this decision. Do you have any plans to raise this matter with the Minister of Health?
Mbuyisi Mzukwa: Yes, I have already had one meeting with the department. There will be a follow-up meeting and we would like to engage the Minister specifically on the plans for these health workers that he has promised to put in place, but there are also a number of other issues that we would like to raise with the Minister, particularly around the deterioration of health care. . Infrastructure and many other things that are impacting the healthcare system. As the South African Medical Association, we will be holding a conference from Thursday to Saturday this week to consider strengthening South Africa's healthcare system.
Jeremy Maggs: I'll leave it there. Thank you very much, Dr Mbuyisi Mzukwa, President of the South African Medical Association.