Written by Umamah Bakharia 

The dust has not settled following the open letter of Rahima Moosa Hospital paediatrician Dr Tim de Maayer on the broken public healthcare system that he said had devastating consequences on young patients.

Now another doctor has written an open letter on the public health system in South Africa.

One of the Mail and Guardian’s Top 200 Young South Africans in 2017 and News 24’s 100 Young Mandelas in 2018 and basic human rights activist, Dr Aayesha Soni added her voice to that of Dr De Maayer as she writes about the struggles of doctors working in the public healthcare system.

Speaking to Radio Islam, Dr Soni says that the public health care system is getting worse over the years. 

“It’s just getting accepted to be the norm and it’s actually been deteriorating quite a bit over the last couple of years to the point that it is very detrimental to the patients,” says Dr Soni.

She says the issue is nationwide where patients are treated “suboptimally” because doctors are emotionally drained as they are working under conditions that are inhumane.

Commenting on Dr Tim De Maayer’s opinion piece, Dr Soni says it is the reality of what the doctors on the ground are experiencing in the public health care system.

“We have never really seen support from management or the government or anyone in power when it comes to the troubles that we face every single day,” says Dr Soni.

She adds: “I think the condition has reached a boiling point and doctors just want to speak out now because it’s not just about our working conditions but actually about how patients are being treated and unnecessary deaths because of these issues not being solved,” says Dr Soni.

She reiterates that government needs to step in to deal with the failing public health care system.