Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu says that the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) in the Western Cape is in the process of issuing letters of appointment to doctors in an effort to address the medical assessment backlog in the province.
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During parliamentary questions, Democratic Alliance (DA) MP Alexandra Abrahams asked Zulu about the backlog in the province, noting that there are only 11 assessment doctors for the region. To this end, Abrahams questioned whether the department had taken any measures to address the shortage of assessment doctors.
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‘An advert for a three-year tender was issued with a closing date of July 14, 2023. Sassa Western Cape is in the process of issuing award letters to 14 successful bidders,’ says Zulu. ‘The appointed doctors will be provided with schedules to speed up medical assessments, with specific focus on areas where the need for medical assessments remain high.’
The backlog pertains to first-time applications for a disability-related grant. According to IOL, there is also a backlog of applications for people who were previously rejected and others who received temporary disability grants.
‘To address the shortage of assessment doctors, Sassa Western Cape has since inception entered into service level agreements with all districts of the provincial Department of Health for the provision of medical assessment services,’ Zulu adds.
‘The implementation of the service level agreement is hampered by the shortage of doctors and other health practitioners who can perform proper medical assessments.’
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Picture: SASSA News / Facebook