How we’re fixing the health worker shortage in rural hospitals

UYDF offers a long-term solution to these shortages as it does not just find healthcare professionals to fill these gaps, it trains them from the very start. In order to do this the organisation identifies, trains and supports rural youth from KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape to become qualified healthcare staff. UYDF is currently operating in eleven hospitals in the most rural parts of KwaZulu-Natal and two hospitals in rural Eastern Cape.

Rural hospitals face critical health worker shortages and have a hard time recruiting and retaining health-care staff for several reasons, leading to inadequate health-care delivery in these areas. The reason for these shortages range from professional isolation and distance from urban centers, to a lack of perceived career opportunities and difficult working conditions. Research, however, shows that health workers are more likely to work in the communities they come from.

Our project started in 1998 and since then we have trained 183 healthcare professionals who work in rural healthcare facilities, servicing the communities they come from. Umthombo identifies youth that fit this profile, who have the potential to become health providers and who on graduation will commit to working year-for-year at a rural hospital in their district.

In 2013 UYDF boasted a 94% pass rate with 48 students completing their studies across 14 medical disciplines, ranging from doctors and nurses to audiologists and dieticians.

The benefits of the programme are substantial. Not only does it provide incentives to local learners to work hard and achieve the necessary grades to enroll, it works to stimulate local youth/community development and in doing so create positive role models.

Students are provided comprehensive financial support, guidance and mentorship – allowing them to concentrate exclusively on their studies. This allows these students to dream of a better future. When they complete their studies they have a job for life working to be part of the solution to South Africa’s public sector health crisis. By returning to work in their districts, these medical professionals help to create quality healthcare delivery in a sustainable manner. This makes big strides in breaking the cycle of poverty in these areas.

UYDF offers a tangible and sustainable, real, solution to a complex set of healthcare problems, while solving other related social ills. This programme deserves your attention and support.

See the UYDF website for information about bursaries and how to donate.