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Cuban
doctors' fate unknown
Sizwe samaYende. 13/08/2003 20:08
- News24.com.
(SA)
Polokwane - The future of seven Cuban doctors
who want to withdraw from the bilateral Cuba/South
Africa agreement has yet to be decided by the
medicine professions watchdog after it failed
to take a decision early this month.
The doctors accuse Limpopo's health authorities
and Cuban embassy officials of wanting to disqualify
them from working in the country after they gained
permanent residence or married local women.
They want to opt out of the agreement and freely
practise medicine in South Africa.
The Health Professions Council of South Africa
(HPCSA) considered the matter on August 4 but
did not reach a decision, said HPCSA spokesperson
Phephela Makgoke on Wednesday.
"The executive committee did consider the
matter but it wasn't finalised and is still being
considered internally," Makgoke said.
The HPCSA registered the doctors only on condition
that they worked under the bilateral agreement.
Meanwhile, a group of 29 highly skilled Cuban
doctors arrived in Limpopo last month as part
of the six-year bilateral agreement.
An additional 12 technologists from Cuba also
arrived last month to help repair hospital equipment
and save millions of rands that would have been
spent hiring private companies to do the job.
Limpopo has 416 doctors at 43 hospitals and about
400 clinics responsible for a population of 4.9
million people.
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