Several political parties have pledged to plug healthcare staff shortages at government hospitals and clinics by training more health workers. They're right to be concerned with understaffing, but are they putting the right solutions on the table?

As the election approaches, one message seems ubiquitous among opposition parties: there is a severe shortage of health workers at government hospitals and clinics. The manifestos of the DA, EFF, MK, IFP, ActionSA, UDM, Rise Mzansi and the ACDP all make some reference to the issue or simply state they would increase the number of health workers in the system if they were in power.

But why are so many parties from across the political spectrum pointing to this particular problem, and are they proposing realistic solutions?

Government health facilities are shedding staff

Various sources of data show that public health facilities are indeed heavily understaffed, giving weight to parties' concerns. For instance, in March, the Health Department revealed that appointments for a number of key clinical posts across the country have not been made. In some of the worst-performing provinces - the Free State, North West and Limpopo - more than 20% of posts for medical officers (i.e. non-specialised doctors) were unfilled.

Additionally, in North West, almost two out of five nursing posts were vacant, while half of all positions for psychiatrists were unstaffed. In the Free State, a mere...