One of the things that living overseas has taught me is that, no matter where you go, people are certain that their country is falling apart. Take, for example, doctors. SA is facing a shortage of doctors and nurses, according to health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize. This is certainly true. There are not enough doctors to go around in SA, particularly outside of the big metropolitan areas.
But here’s the thing – everyone is facing a doctor and nurse shortage. In Ireland and the UK, the papers are full of warnings about the medical professional shortage and angry pieces blaming government for the lack of healthcare workers in small, rural towns. Some people say this is because the healthcare systems in these countries are largely government-run. But you can read exactly the same complaints in the US media – not nearly enough doctors and nurses to go around. In the US, the shortage is blamed on things like insurance costs and lawsuits aimed at bad doctors.
But here’s the reality: there is a global shortage of healthcare professionals. This is mostly because our global demand for healthcare – especially in rich countries full of old people – is rising much faster than expected. Creating new health workers is time consuming and expensive, and the pool of suitable young people to be trained as doctors is growing slower than demand. We have a lot of demand and constrained supply. So, we have a global shortage. This is a long-term problem that requires a concerted, global effort to increase supply. It’s not a uniquely South African issue.
Comment from Biznews community ember John Pepper:
I don’t know if this will be bounced back to me but I’ll try anyway.
The lack of sufficient doctors is also equalled by the shortage of money.
There is only one way to solve this problem:
MAKE PEOPLE ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR ACTIONS…
If people had to pay for treatment provided for any resulting health issues caused by DRINKING; SMOKING; DIET; DRUGS etc, they would think twice before they overindulged.
