1,260 doctors without jobs while hospitals run short: Why South Africa’s health system is under fire

1,260 doctors without jobs while hospitals run short: Why South Africa’s health system is under fire

On paper, South Africa doesn’t have a doctor shortage problem. In reality, clinics are overwhelmed, hospitals are stretched thin and more than a thousand qualified doctors are sitting at home, unemployed.

It’s a contradiction that has sparked renewed anger from medical professionals, unions and opposition parties, all pointing to what they describe as a systemic failure in how the country manages its healthcare workforce.

A growing backlog of unemployed doctors

According to the South African Medical Association Trade Union (Samatu), at least 1,260 doctors who have completed their compulsory community service are currently unemployed, despite there being around 1,100 vacant medical posts nationwide.

Dr Talente Biyela, chair of Samatu’s Junior Doctors Group, says the situation has become both heartbreaking and infuriating. Some of these doctors, he notes, have been without work for more than two years, even as public hospitals continue to rely on exhausted staff working punishing hours.

“This is not a new problem,” Biyela said. “It has persisted for years because the Department of Health keeps ignoring it.”

Budget increases, but no jobs created

Last year, after pressure from Samatu and other stakeholders, the public healthcare budget was increased by R20.8 billion, specifically earmarked for staffing and essential services.

Yet, according to medical bodies, much of that money has not translated into real jobs.

Instead of appointing unemployed doctors, provinces have continued to overwork those already employed a practice that doctors say fuels burnout, resignations and declining patient care.

“The failure to spend allocated funds is a clear misalignment with community healthcare needs,” Biyela said. “This isn’t just about jobs. It’s about the sustainability of the entire health system.”

A national crisis, with one notable exception

Samatu has praised Mpumalanga as the only province that has managed to fill all its vacant doctor posts a detail that has sparked debate online, with many asking why other provinces cannot replicate the model.

On social media, junior doctors have shared stories of sending out dozens of applications, relocating at their own expense, and still being told there are “no funded posts available”, all while hospitals report chronic staff shortages.

SAMA: ‘This is a structural failure’

The South African Medical Association (SAMA) has echoed Samatu’s concerns, calling the situation a misallocation of scarce public health resources.

Vice-chair Dr Zanele Bikitsha said the disconnect between funding, post allocation and actual hiring represents a deeper planning failure.

“We have money allocated for staffing, but posts remain vacant,” she said. “That undermines healthcare delivery, worsens shortages and places extra strain on the doctors who are still working.”

Despite National Treasury allocating R20.8 billion in 2025 for staffing and essential services, SAMA says much of the funding has simply not been deployed.

Promises made, trust wearing thin

Following a recent meeting with the Minister of Health, SAMA says the department committed to advertising post–community service doctor positions by the end of this month. The association has warned it will closely monitor whether those promises are kept.

“What needs to happen now is clear,” Bikitsha said. “Budgets must match funded posts, vacancies must be filled without delay, and workforce planning must move beyond short-term crisis management.”

Questions over missing billions

The Democratic Alliance has also raised red flags. DA shadow health minister Michéle Clarke revealed that her party previously asked the health minister to explain how R1.778 billion, intended to create more than 1,650 new healthcare jobs, was actually spent.

Instead, she said, the department’s headcount had shrunk by 12.1% in recent years.

As of publication, the Department of Health had not responded to questions sent to its spokesperson.

More than numbers, it’s about care

Behind the statistics are real people: doctors eager to serve, patients waiting longer for care, and communities paying the price for administrative paralysis.

For many in the medical profession, the message is simple, South Africa doesn’t just need more funding. It needs urgency, accountability and the political will to put doctors where they are desperately needed.

{Source: The Citizen}

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