A group of about 200 medical interns have been left frustrated after they missed out on two placements in public hospitals due to Covid-19 and funding problems.
The interns were to be placed in public hospitals on April 1 as part of the Internship and Community Service Training Programme (ICSP) but this was postponed to June 11.
But according to Foster Mohale, spokesperson for the department of health, the interns were given the June 11 date for the department to plan to place them in July.
Mohale said the department valued the contribution the medical interns will make to the health system. “The department is working closely with provinces to ensure that medical graduates are placed to undergo internship and community service under the supervision of qualified doctors and other health specialists,” he said.
“So far we have 118 funded and accredited posts. We have since identified a further 213 accredited but unfunded posts and we are working with the National Treasury and provinces like Gauteng [that are] experiencing a high burden of Covid-19 and other health challenges to appoint more medical interns.”
Thozama Bosman, 26, from Kimberley in the Northern Cape completed her medical studies at the Wits University Medical School in March and hoped to help her family financially.
“I was supposed to work in April, according the e-mail I received from ICSP but that did not happen. I then received another e-mail which stated that I will be placed by June 11,” Bosman said.
Bosman said she was now back at home and depending on her father, who is a pensioner. “I was hoping to help out financially at home as well, to be able to get medical aid for him and just relieve some pressure. It's very depressing to be home and see the financial challenges my father is facing and not being able to help,” she said.
Another 27-year-old Wits student, who asked to remain anonymous, said a number of students could not complete their studies on time as a result of the pandemic.
“The academic year was shifted and as a result some of us completed our studies in March, which meant we missed the January intake. We were told we can't be placed and there are now 288 junior doctors who are sitting at home doing nothing.
"In medicine you need to do two years' internship and one year of community service. We can't even look for employment elsewhere at this stage. We are ready, trained and prepared but the government is failing us,” he said.
Another medical intern from Walter Sisulu University said he was in debt for R90,000. “My family sacrificed a lot for me to be able to complete my studies. It's sad that I had to go back home with nothing but a debt,” he said.
SA Medical Association chairperson Dr Angelique Coetzee said the challenge in placing medical interns was funding. “There are 170 medical interns that still needs to be funded. We are hoping that the funding will be sorted out before the end of this week,” she said.
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