Unions question doctor workforce planning as Health Department lacks unemployment register

Unions in South Africa have raised serious concerns over the National Department of Health’s lack of a comprehensive register of unemployed doctors, citing this as a critical gap in the government’s ability to effectively manage the healthcare workforce. According to the department, it does not maintain records of doctors who are currently unemployed, despite having data on the number of physicians who completed their compulsory community service by the end of 2025, 1,891 individuals who became eligible for employment. However, the department has admitted it cannot determine how many of these doctors remain unemployed. This revelation has sparked criticism from labor organizations, who argue that such a deficiency undermines efforts to plan staffing and allocate resources efficiently. As of the end of March 2026, provincial health departments across the country reported 1,518 vacant medical positions. This shortage highlights the growing challenge faced by the healthcare system in filling roles with qualified professionals. HOSPERSA, the Health and Other Services Personnel Trade Union of South Africa, has urged the government to conduct an immediate nationwide assessment of doctors who completed their community service in 2025, linking them to their current employment status. The union emphasized that understanding the number of unemployed doctors, their locations, skill sets, and duration of job searches is fundamental to effective workforce management. HOSPERSA’s Gauteng provincial secretary, Nhlanhla Mthize, pointed out that the absence of such data raises doubts about the credibility of the government’s plans for the healthcare sector. He questioned how the state could accurately forecast staffing needs and allocate budgets without knowing how many qualified doctors are available for work. Similarly, the Public Servants Association (PSA) expressed concern over the lack of a clear picture regarding unemployed doctors, arguing that this hinders the department’s capacity to budget and distribute resources appropriately. Claude Naicker, the PSA’s national manager, noted that while the association has shared information received from unemployed doctors with the department, it has not independently verified these figures. He stressed that both national and provincial health departments should maintain updated databases detailing the availability of doctors, their placement status, and the specialties in which they have trained. This, he argued, would provide a more accurate representation of the healthcare workforce landscape. SAMATU, another prominent union representing healthcare workers, has also submitted data on unemployed doctors to the national department. Dr. Mthanjiswa Bengeza, SAMATU’s deputy president, mentioned that the union had provided its database of unemployed doctors in both 2024 and 2025. However, he expressed uncertainty about whether the department had retained this information. A 27-year-old doctor who completed her community service in KwaZulu-Natal in December 2025 shared her frustration with the process. She stated that neither national nor provincial health officials had ever requested her details for tracking purposes, leaving her feeling undervalued. This doctor, who has applied for various government and private-sector positions without success, highlighted the systemic issue of doctor unemployment. Despite lacking an exact figure, she believes the government must recognize the scale of the problem, given the history of union meetings and strikes. While supporting the idea of a centralized database, she emphasized the importance of protecting doctors’ personal information. Her experience with a fraudulent job offer further underscored the risks associated with poor data management and potential exploitation within the system.