African Journal of Primary Health Care and Family Medicine

Globally, there is a shortage of doctors, which is accentuated in developing countries.¹ According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), South Africa (SA) had 9.1 medical doctors per 10 000 population in 2017, in comparison with the average global density of 15 per 10 000 people.^1,2 This is in contrast with other BRICS countries, for example Brazil with 21.5, China with 17.8, Russia with 40.1 and India with 7.8 doctors per 10 000 population.¹ In SA, this shortage is aggravated by the large private or public healthcare divide, with 30% of doctors caring for 85% of the population in the public sector.³ The rural or urban divide contributes further to this shortage, where 46% of the country’s population living in rural areas are being cared for by 12% of doctors and 19% of nurses.⁴ In the Garden Route district 3.3 doctors per 10 000 population care for the roughly 550 000 people in the public sector (Western Cape Department of Health Human Resources Department staff approved post list as at April 2020)…Readmore