Objective: To assess the work experiences of community service doctors in public hospitals of Limpopo Province.
Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional quantitative study was used to assess work experiences of CSD employed in public hospitals of Limpopo Province in 2003. A simple random sample was used to recruit s 4 CSD from hospitals with 5 or more CSD. Where there were less than 4 CSD, all CSD were included in study. A total sample of 70 CSD was obtained from the population of 103 (68% sample). A structured, telephonic interview assessed items such as hospital environment, workload, supervision and support, clinical experiences and incentives.
Results: Thirty percent of CSD worked in regional hospitals; 70% in district hospitals. Gender distribution was similar with male CSD (52.9%) and 75% were between 25-30 years. The vast majority of CSD (97.1%) worked more than 40 hours per week due to“ the needs of the patients or services and a feeling for the community”. Their major complaints were related to staff shortages (94.3%), lack of sleep whilst on call (65%) and non-functioning equipment (95.7%). This contributed to medical errors related to fatigue (51%) and the death of patients due to non-working equipment (15%).
Conclusion:CSD were overworked and vulnerable to committing errors when coping with diagnostic uncertainty and a lack of supervision. Staff shortage and few hours of rests were reported among the factors hampering quality health service delivery.