KZN Health withdraws circular on foreign doctors

The Africa News Agency earlier reported that the internal circular released last week was signed by acting head of Health, Musa Gumede.

Gumede said the decision was taken to prioritise South African doctors trained in Cuba.

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Simelane-Zulu says she has decided to do her own investigation into the matter.

"The fifth administration had taken a policy decision to put on hold the employment of any foreign national doctors on the basis that KwaZulu-Natal was faced with unemployed young doctors," said Simelane-Zulu.

"For the department to absorb or incorporate all the doctors in the system, they had to make a decision to open up all the spaces that were there."

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The MEC says the circular was not discussed or agreed upon by the sixth administration.

"It must be taken by the MEC, but it must importantly the decision must go through the Provincial Executive Council, which it has not. As a result, we have instructed the HOD to withdraw the circular until all relevant stakeholders have been consulted," she said.