• Foreign-qualified doctors have been left frustrated and jobless as a result of not being able to certified and registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA).
• While there is no precise reason as to why the delays in exams continue, the process is handled by an external service provider.
• The HPCSA has been advertising closed bids to universities across the country to handle the exams since July of last year.

If you are a foreign-qualified doctor coming back to South Africa in order to begin working, one would think the process to get you certified and registered with the local governing body would be a simple one, but as a group of doctors who marched on the Union Buildings earlier this week showcased, it has proved an immensely frustrating experience.

Per coverage by News24, the foreign-qualified doctors in question have essentially been left jobless as the result of continued delays for examinations to become certified.

The Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) has since addressed the frustrated doctors, although the feedback has been less than welcome.

To that end, an HPCSA spokesperson told SA News that, “The training received by all foreign-qualified medical practitioners is subject to review to measure compliance and equivalence to the prescribed minimum South African requirements. This is to establish whether the qualifications meet the evaluation criteria and allow applicants to practice their profession in the country.”

The real issue, however, is that an external service provider manages the Medical Board Examinations on behalf of the Medical and Dental Board (MDB). Said examinations were conducted by Sefako Makgatho University (SMU), but the word were here is significant as its contract to handle the examination process has since expired.

“The HPCSA had already started a supply chain management process to seek a replacement service provider, with initial bids advertised in March 2022. Unfortunately, only one bidder responded but did not meet the supply chain requirements,” it claimed.

“As a result, a deviation from normal procurement processes was sought to enable negotiations with the same institution to provide guidance and ensure that requirements are met. This process took longer than anticipated but is now nearing completion,” the HPCSA continued.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, no official date or timeframe has been mentioned as to when the foreign-qualified doctors can sit for the exams, with the HPCSA stating that it plans to hold both theory and practical board examinations before the end of the year.

In the interim, however, qualified doctors ready to work in SA’s healthcare system remain in the lurch.

“I would like to apologise to the affected practitioners and assure them that we are working tirelessly to ensure a speedy and permanent solution for all,” concluded HPCSA registrar, Dr Magome Masike, offering little to no solace for those impacted.