Thank you, currently South African medical schools produce about 1 200 doctors annually. Since the 1990s the increase in the burden of disease, the high incidence of HIV/Aids and the loss of qualified doctors to developed countries has resulted in a critical shortage of positions. This does not help efforts to significantly reduce maternal and child mortality.
According to reports, a fifth of the physicians trained in Africa migrate to high-income countries within five years of completing their training. Our medical professionals are saying there are ways to influence highly trained professionals to stay in the country and that, apart from a living wage, providing a supportive environment for clinical work and research and supporting doctors with small-scale research would go a long way.
Security is another hot issue for both health professionals and patients, as demonstrated by protesting doctors after the fatal stabbing of Dr Senzosenkosi Mkhize in Middelburg on 7 June 2011.
The ACDP has called for a re-evaluation of legislation and the consideration of the need to establish an independent regulatory body for doctors and dentists, whose voices in the Health Professions Council of South Africa, HPCSA, are diluted. This would not only ensure greater integrity in dealing with professional misconduct and clinical negligence but will build confidence within the medical profession.
We welcome what we perceived to be a change of attitude towards serious problems emanating from the practice of abortion on demand and we look forward to working with the Minister in dealing with the many abuses. Despite concerns about underspending, the ACDP will support this Budget Vote.
Deputy Speaker ...
Do you want to make a declaration? We can make declarations. I don't mind leaving here at 12:00pm.
Madam Deputy Speaker, yes, I will be one minute. Unfortunately I didn't hear the member who was talking. I would have liked to have heard what she was saying. We support this Budget Vote specifically because it addresses primary health care. I heard some talk about doctors leaving the country. I want to say to the member that what she didn't say was that South Africa produces the very best doctors, hence they are leaving. That's actually a good thing. Also, if we improve primary health care, it will reduce the workload in hospitals and we might not need the numbers she is talking about. That is very important.
Coming to security in relation to what happened in Mpumalanga, I think there is no way that you can have security between a doctor and a patient, because there are confidential things that they need to talk about. If you talk about security, let us talk about it in terms of it being around the hospital - and that was there at that institution where the doctor was stabbed. When the patient is inside with the doctor, there is no way that there can be somebody who stands and listens to what is going on there.
Vote agreed to.
Vote No 17 - Higher Education and Training - put.
Declarations of vote:
Madam Deputy Speaker, the DA opposes the Budget for the following reasons: Not enough money has been allocated specifically to rescue the majority of universities and FET colleges from underperforming. The DA has budgeted an extra amount of R3 billion in its alternative budget especially for the benefit of needy deserving students. Government needs to explain how free undergraduate tertiary education will be funded. It requires a very sophisticated financial model.
Government is silent on what changes will be implemented to improve the quality and quantity of trainings funded by the Sector Education and Training Authority, Seta. The DA is also concerned about the independence of the National Skills Fund and its decisions to only fund certain skills initiatives.
The money that is set aside for this portfolio should be spent more effectively and on a more appropriately designed education system rather than focusing on spending more money on the current system. [Applause.]
All we wanted to say was that we support this Budget. I think that Dr Lawrence Cloupas knows that we are certain of the efforts the department is undertaking to ensure expanded access to higher education. And I wish the fictional amount she mentioned was real money. [Applause.]
Division demanded.
The House divided:
AYES - 217 (ANC - 198; COPE - 13; FF Plus 1; ACDP - 2; UCDP - 2; PAC - 1).