SA-Cuba medical programme criticised

SA-Cuba medical programme criticised
July 11 2013 at 02:40pm
By Matthew Hirsch

Pretoria - Medical experts have criticised the South African-Cuban
doctor programme, saying the South African doctors were not adequately
equipped when they came home.

Last week, 62 medical students returned from Cuba to begin the last leg
of their training to become qualified doctors.

According to the Department of Health, there are 1 003 South African
medical students training in Cuba.

Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi aims to increase the number of doctors
trained in South Africa from 1 200 to 3 600 a year, with local medical
schools already having upped their intake by 160 last year.

But the lack of facilities and places available has led to students
being sent to train in Cuba.

"The burden of disease in Cuba is very different," explained Elma de
Vries, a doctor based in Mitchells Plain and a former chairman of The
Rural Doctors Association of Southern Africa.

According to De Vries, when the freshly-trained doctors return to South
Africa they do so without having been trained in how to deal with TB,
HIV or the complications of diabetes.

They also hadn't been trained to deal with women in labour, she said.

The students spend their first year in Cuba learning Spanish.

They spend another five years in medical school in Cuba before returning
here to finish their training, which takes between 12 and 18 months.

"It's a long, tedious and expensive process, and it's very hard for them
to meet expectations," she said.

Errol Holland, chairman of the South African Committee of Medical Deans,
which represents all eight medical schools in the country, agreed with
De Vries.

"They have a preventative healthcare system and we are not there yet,"
he said. Students going to Cuba are trained in the needs of the Cuban
health-care system."

Holland said his committee had raised "issues" with Motsoaledi about the
exchange programme.

De Vries and Holland said there were simply not enough doctors in South
Africa and the universities had struggled to increase their output.

Holland said he understood that more doctors were required in order to
implement Motsoaledi's National Health Insurance plan.

"We agree that there is a high degree of inequality (in health care).

"(About) 1 000 doctors are required and this is what we are working
towards," he said.

Holland said there needed to be more facilities for trainees and
programmes to help ensure returning students were qualified to practise
here.

Joe Maila, spokesman for the Department of Health, said the programme
was an agreement between the two governments.

"We needed to address the shortage of doctors and Cuba has more than 20
medical schools."

He said the programme would give South Africa more doctors.

The more doctors there were the better, he added.

Cadet News Agency

Source: "SA-Cuba medical programme criticised - South Africa | IOL News
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http://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/sa-cuba-medical-programme-criticised-1.1545474