Mohamed Ameen Dabhelia – 2018/03/07

The Health Professional Council of South Africa says medical doctors who have studied abroad need to complete an internship in the ‘country of study’ in order to sit for their HPCSA board exam.

The specific regulation has left hundreds of returning medical doctors in limbo, as work permit issues in various countries prevent them from completing the required internship.

The current President of HPCSA, Dr Kgosi Letlape told Radio Islam that the rule has been in place since 2009.

“The rules are on foreign qualified doctors, whether they are South African or not South African, we don’t have rules for foreigners and rules for citizens.”

However, Doctors claim that the rules have not been enforced by the HPCSA, something Letlape denies, but he did concede that in the past few years, the rules have not been followed, adding that ‘investigations’ are underway to figure out why this has happened.

Letlape says the doctors cannot make it a new norm just because there was a lapse in regulation, and says the basic rule is that students studying abroad should return as a qualified doctor.

Ahmed Sarang, a medical graduate from China and the spokesperson for the ‘doctors who have studied abroad’ told Radio Islam that the HPCSA has not provided them with any explanation to justify their decision and actions in handling the situation.

“This is in direct conflict with the constitution, in terms of administrative justice that any procedural action has to be lawful, reasonable and rational, and the ownness of the decision lies solely with the HPCSA.”

Letlape says if the doctors want to take legal action against the HPCSA, they are welcome to do so.

“We are happy to get the judiciary to decide on the matter.”

Letlape adds that the HPCSA will not prejudice the future of a South African child unduly.

“We are going to help them comply.”

Letlape says students need to make an application to the council in order to verify specific details pertaining to the qualification, which will allow the council to determine whether the student qualifies for the board exam and internship.

“We need to verify that the university exists, verify you were trained, and verify what the standard of the university is, to allow you to provide us with the ECFMG report, curriculum content and syllabus of the institution.”

Sarang says there is confusion as to how the documents are received by the HPCSA, and that it is nearly impossible to give an application without the confidential report from the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG).

Sarang argues that several meeting have been set up with the HPCSA in order to find an amicable solution to the problem, however, no meetings have taken place yet.

Surprisingly, South African students currently studying in Cuba do not seem to have any problem with the HPCSA, Letlape attributes this to a program, which has been ‘pre negotiated’ with the council for over twenty years.

“Cuban students are allowed places in South African universities, where they are required to complete a further 18 to 24 month program, at the end of which they do their assessment, when they pass, this is the pathway to registration, they are then able to do an internship with the Ministry of Health.”

Letlape adds that the issues with students qualifying in China needs to be addressed at a government-to-government level first – before the regulators can step in.

Sarang says that they are looking forward to dealing with the HPCSA in order to find an amicable solution the problem.

(Edited By Hesley Harmse)