MZANSI STILL BLEEDING DOCTORS, NURSES

It appears Mzansi’s battle against the medical doctor brain drain is far from over. A new report suggests the country has lost over R12 billion in training costs for doctors who, after getting qualified, then leave the profession or more likely, go overseas to countries like the US, Canada and the UK.

Worse, Mzansi is not the only one as other countries such as Zimbabwe, Ethiopia and Nigeria also face the same problems of emigrating doctors. With sub-Saharan Africa being the most affected by HIV and AIDS, a shortage of doctors is the last thing we need. Clearly something is not being to change the situation. During the mid 1990s we started importing doctors from countries like Cuba who were meant to stem the flow. It seems that did not work very well.

We really need to train our own doctors, and do what we can to keep them. Several measures have been taken to try and do this, including forcing them to do “community work” for the first couple of years of practice. Nurses are the same as they are poached by overseas hospitals with promises of double to triple their SA salaries. It’s really like Jomo Sono’s PSL club Jomo Cosmos which he says has been the training ground for players like Helman Mkhalele, Chippa Masinga and others who leave for greener pastures after being mentored by him.