Home affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi has put specialist nurses, doctors and dentists back on the critical skills list, in a revised version published in the Government Gazette on Tuesday.
The previous version, released in February, inexplicably left healthcare workers off the list, despite SA’s shortages. A 2014 version, which the February list replaced, had included healthcare professionals. The skills list enables employers to more easily hire foreigners to fill the gaps in SA’s workforce. Foreigners holding qualifications on the critical skills list can apply for a long-term critical skills visa to enter SA. If they have a job secured before arriving in SA, the visa is valid for five years; if not, it is valid for only a year.
The new list includes specialist nurse educators, and nurses who have specialised in midwifery, theatre, psychiatry, critical care, trauma and paediatrics.
Estimates vary, but by all accounts SA faces an acute shortage of healthcare professionals. The health department’s 2030 human resources strategy projects a shortage of 34,000 registered nurses by 2025, while research by health consultancy Percept found SA had less than 10,000 full-time equivalent specialists serving the entire country in 2018.
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Home Affairs minister puts key healthcare workers back on critical skills listThe previous version inexplicably left healthcare workers off the list, despite SA’s shortages
Source: BDliveSA - 🏆 12. / 63 Read more »