TimesLIVE reports that a group of unemployed KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) doctors staged a sit-in outside the provincial health department’s headquarters in Pietermaritzburg on Monday.

The doctors, who recently completed their community service, said they planned to continue the demonstration overnight and “escalate” their protest if their demands were not met within seven days. Earlier, about 150 young doctors, dismayed over the lack of employment opportunities, marched to the Natalia building to hand over a memorandum. “Despite our qualifications and training, we are being forced to take to the streets to demand that our government provide us with the jobs we need to serve our communities. We believe that the recurring phenomenon of doctors protesting for jobs at the beginning of every year is a clear indication of poor planning and negligence on the part of our government,” said the doctors in a statement. They added: “The understaffing of public healthcare facilities has severe consequences for patients, who are often forced to wait for extended periods etc. We view this predicament as an emergency and a violation of basic human rights that must be swiftly corrected.” Among the doctors’ demands was the immediate employment of all doctors. They also demanded a reallocation of funds for health care. Support for rural healthcare facilities was another demand. The chief of staff in the office of the premier accepted and acknowledged the memorandum from the unemployed doctors.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Nivashni Nair at TimesLIVE

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