Question NW3890 to the Minister of Health
14 December 2023 - NW3890
Clarke, Ms M to ask the Minister of Health
Regarding the struggle for foreign qualified doctors to register with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) for every year since 2013, what (a) total number of foreign qualified doctors (i) applied to be registered with the HPCSA and (ii) were successfully registered and (b) were the reasons that the other doctors were not registered?
Reply:
According to the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA), the HPCSA underwent major organisational changes with substantive configurations that took effect in 2019/20. Regrettably, a lot of information from financial years prior to 2019 is still to be collated through the Knowledge Management Process. Currently, information as it relates to the question asked is available from 2017 as follows:
a) (i) The total number of foreign qualified graduates that applied to the HPCSA between 2017 and 2023 was 3836, and
(ii) of these 2056 applicants did not write the exams for various reasons outlined below. A total of 1780 foreign graduates wrote the exams, 1066 passed and thus qualified for registration.
b) Applicants would not proceed to registration for a variety of reasons, including, but not limited to the following –
(i) Failure to provide compliant documentation, including information on curricula, notarized documentation, hours of training, domains covered, etc.;
(ii) Non-recognition of qualification by the designated entity, in this case, the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG); and
(iii) Failing, either the theory and/or board examinations.
END.