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What is keeping SA’s medical professionals awake – PPS

JOHANNESBURG, 20 June 2019 – A large proportion of South Africa’s medical professionals are faced with challenging work environments that are impacting on their personal health, according to the 2019 PPS Graduate Professional Index (GPI) results.

Up to 73% of respondents felt that a large number of medical professionals are depressed and suffering burnout, due to long hours (38%) and poor working conditions (23%).

Meanwhile, 72% did not think that the National Health Insurance will improve the sustainability of the profession. When asked what can be done to improve the healthcare system in South Africa, 26% mentioned anti-corruption and better management of funds, and 12% suggested adequate staffing based on merit.

When asked what can be done to encourage doctors to stay in South Africa rather than move abroad, 33% thought that the socio-economic situation needs to be improved, 30% suggested better working conditions, and 19% suggested better salaries and incentives.

“Much is needed to be done to improve the working conditions for medical professionals, the caregivers of our nation of South Africa who seem to be reaching their own professional tipping point,” says Motshabi Nomvete, Technical Marketing Specialist at PPS.

PPS conducted an independent survey of 5,837 members at the beginning of 2019 to gauge their perceptions on a number of issues affecting the Engineering, Accounting, Dental, Legal, Medical, Pharmaceutical and other sector professions.  

At 56% medical professionals were the least confident about their profession in the next five years followed by dental (47%). The most confident were accountancy (86%), other* (80%), legal (65%) and engineering (60%) and pharmacists (60%).

*Note to the editor: ‘Other’ are business professional, financial sector, computer sciences/IT, education, science and biology, social/community upliftment, urban/rural development, environmental sciences/conservation, arts and literature/academia, government/public service, law enforcement and agriculture/horticulture professions.

About PPS

PPS has more than 150 000 members who enjoy access to a comprehensive suite of financial and healthcare products that are specifically tailored to meet the needs of graduate professionals.

PPS is the largest South African company of its kind, exclusively for graduate professionals, that still embraces an ethos of mutuality, which means that it exists solely for the benefit of its members. Members receive profit allocations based on the qualifying life risk products they hold with PPS. Thus, PPS members with qualifying products could share in the profits of PPS Insurance, PPS Investments, PPS Short-Term Insurance and PPS Healthcare Administrators via annual allocations to the unique PPS Profit-Share Account. In addition, the more products members hold across these PPS businesses, the larger their percentage of earnings through the PPS Cross-Holdings Profit-Share Booster.

PPS membership provides access to the following tried, tested and trusted products and services: PPS Life Insurance, PPS Short-Term Insurance, PPS Financial Advisory, PPS Investments and Profmed Medical Scheme. Visit www.pps.co.za for more information.

PPS is a Licensed Insurer and Financial Services Provider.