Foreign-trained doctors beat govt in court – can finally practise locally

At least 109 foreign-trained South African doctors who have been sitting idly at home for years, are finally preparing to sit for either the theory or practical components of the South African board examinations, paving their way to practice.

This week the graduate doctors successfully lobbied the high court in Pretoria to compel the Department of Health as well as the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) to allow them to write the exams.

The department and the HPCSA were also interdicted and restrained from invoking the provisions of the New Pathway Policy Guideline seemingly used to bar foreign-trained doctors from admission to practice.

According to the order, the health department and HPCSA are compelled to enrol the graduate doctors for the examinations scheduled to take place on 9 and 10 September. Those who cannot be accommodated should be enrolled at the next evaluation to be scheduled by the health department and or the HPCSA, after the theory evaluation scheduled for the 28 September 2021.

Advocate Rene Govender, who represented the non-profit organisation representing foreign-trained doctors, South African Internationally Trained Health Professionals Association (SAITHPA), in the matter, said the order was a milestone.

“We are hoping that the HPCSA will comply with this order since they decided not to oppose this action … and having made the application they had every opportunity to contest this case. They decided not to contest this case and now that we have the order, we hope they do the right thing and implement the order,” she said.

The health department and the HPCSA, both yet to respond to the order, were also jointly slapped with costs.

Foreign-trained doctors robbed of hope

In January The Citizen reported how the HPCSA had been accused of systemically snubbing at least 380 South African doctors trained abroad, rendering them unemployed, despite the country in desperately need of doctors.

Geremie Nayager, 26, of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, who graduated as a medical doctor at China’s Anhui Medical College in 2019, after six years of study said the order restored his hope.

The SAITHPA deputy chairperson and one of the applicants in the matter, said the order was unbelievable as other affected graduates were calling to confirm if indeed it was true that they will finally be allowed to sit for board exams.

“I do not think people really understand how the HPCSA has robbed us of something as important as hope. We were exhausted trying to fight for the right to practise in our country of birth. It has been a mentally and emotionally taxing journey for many of us,” he said.

Nayager lamented how they had endured years of rejection, being told they were incompetent, and South Africa turning a blind eye to their training. He says they had been barely surviving financially, and that the court action had come at a great cost.

“For me personally, it is a sigh of relief. It has been difficult having to encourage others to keep pushing forward even when you know the odds were against you. This court order is a big win for us, almost 30 years of life has past and we are now finally being told that we can register properly and practice soon,” he said.

Nayager said he would have been completing his second year of internship and getting ready to enter community service now, before finally being able to prastice as a fully-fledged doctor and specialise, if it were not for the impasse.

But he was also excited about completing his practical exams in October, which he said would allow him to join the annual cycle of interns in January 2022.

• siphom@citizen.co.za