Sama wants medical intern placement done by Friday, ready to turn to courts
The South African Medical Association (Sama) has given the Health Department until Friday to complete the placement process of all junior doctors as medical interns.
Sama says more than 150 interns need to complete their community service training in public health facilities, which is compulsory.
The association's chairperson, Dr Angelique Coetzee, says the department needs to speed up the process, as these interns graduated back in March and April.
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Sama's threatened legal action if the department fails to fulfil its responsibility.
"We want them to enrol in a medical internship with immediate effect.
"We also want the national Department of Health to provide us with a written undertaking and that provision will be made that these interns will not be in any way be penalised or disadvantaged by the delay in the commencement of their medical internship.
"Because these interns applied at the right time and this should never have a problem for the interns. This is a problem between Treasury and National Department of Health. They need to sort it out."
Sama says 135 of 288 interns have started working as interns at various health facilities.
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