News
HST collects relevant news from a variety of sources, for your convenience and thus has no control over the content of these news articles. Select a story from below, or use our search feature to find stories of interest.

Research published by the Health Systems Trust last year showed 27% of public sector posts for health-care professionals stood empty, amounting to about 46000 jobs.

Doctors and nurses frequently quit for better pay and working conditions in the private sector or overseas. A 2003 study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found there were 23407 medical professionals from SA working in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the US and Britain, while a third of the countrys hospital posts for doctors stood empty.

The health departments head of human resources, Percy Mahlati, said the allowances would remain in place at least until a new remuneration system for health-care professionals had been finalised with trade unions and the department of public service and administration. The national treasury had assured the department that there was further funding for the allowances provided to the provinces as part of their share of the budget.

Critics of the allowances say they have failed to retain significant numbers of doctors and nurses in the public sector, and had sown division among staff.

KwaZulu-Natals former head of health, Ronald Green- Thomson, told Parliament in April that while the extra money was welcome, it had neither attracted nor retained health-care personnel in significant numbers.

Mahlati conceded that the scarce-skills allowances had experienced mixed success, noting that they had been most effective with doctors.

The rural allowances range from 8%-22% of annual salary, depending on area and occupational category. The scarce-skills allowances range from 10%-15%. This is equivalent to rural allowances for doctors of between R22572 and R27588 a year, depending on location, and scarce-skills allowances of R18810 a year. Employees can get both allowances if they qualify.

Health-care professionals were unhappy that the allowances were not pensionable, said Mack Lukhele, of SAs largest doctors organisation, the South African Medical Association.

We want the money included in basic salaries he said. Western Capes head of health, Prof Craig Househam, agreed:We believe a consolidated package that does away with commuted overtime and rural and skills allowances, would be better. Special attention needed to be paid to nurses remuneration, he said.

Even here in the Western Cape we struggle to maintain our numbers, he said.