Researchers warn of South Africa's critical care specialist shortage

SOUTH Africa had just 82 critical care subspecialists in 2023, according to a new study by UCT and University College London Hospitals researchers.

- NICOLA DANIELS

The study published in the South African Medical Journal also shows that the specialist density per 100 000 people increased by just 28% despite population growth.

The study, titled “Distribution and demographics of critical care subspecialists for adult patients in South Africa,” aims to highlight stark gaps in specialist availability both nationally and between urban centres and rural areas through data collected from the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) covering 2010 to 2023.

By comparison, the US had about 20 000 full-time intensivists in 2015, the UK had fewer than 1 150 in 2022, and Australia recorded 756 fully qualified intensivists in 2016.

The researchers set out to assess the number of critical care subspecialists across provinces and examine the workforce’s ethnic and gender composition.

This was the first study to quantify the country’s critical care subspecialists, detailing their provincial distribution, their split between the public and private sectors, and the demographics of the workforce.