Amid a critical shortage of nurses and doctors in South Africa, healthcare workers are increasingly looking at their options overseas, the City Press reports.
The paper interviewed several nursing staff last week as part of International Nursing Day, finding that the response was less than optimistic for many.
The Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa said that many nurses were enquiring about opportunities overseas. The union said recruitment agencies from Europe were also setting up bases in South Africa to make the process of registering nurses from this country easier.
Local nurses are unhappy with their earning potential and feel that there is no room to further their education in the country. Many said that they were unable to afford both a house and car – and said they were working with limited resources at hospitals and clinics.
Like many other public service workers, nurses in South Africa have not benefited from massive salary hikes over the last two years, with the third-year negotiated wage agreements (2021) between unions and the government falling away.
South Africa, like the rest of the world, is currently facing a nursing shortage. While the country has about 280,000 nurses – one nurse per 213 people – it needs as many as 26,000 additional nurses to meet growing demand.
Meanwhile, health industry experts have warned that the country could see an exodus of doctors and other key medical personnel ahead of the planned introduction of the National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme.
A survey conducted by the South African Medical Association, which represents the interests of over 12,000 medical professionals in the country, showed that as many as 38% of its members plan to emigrate from South Africa due to the planned introduction of the NHI.
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