Limpopo desperate for doctors

[dArKeR]

Thandee N'wa Mhangwana

Polokwane - The Limpopo health department has only 486 doctors and needs at least another 6 000 to offer an effective service, said health spokesperson Phuti Seloba on Wednesday.

He said the province was having a hard time luring doctors to rural areas.

"Those who do work in rural areas prefer to have their own private practices because they make more money," he explained on Wednesday.

Seloba said the doctor/patient ratio had risen to 1:15 000, whereas the national standard is 1:1 000.

"We don't want to compromise the treatment these patients get, so you find doctors are exhausted by the end of the day and there are long queues at the hospitals," he said.

http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_1502767,00.html


Polokwane, South Africa
http://www.calle.com/world/SF/9/Polokwane.html