The shortage of doctors is not a new issue. It has persisted through all governments, and the reason why you will not find one doing the night shift at the district hospital. People are concerned, but the already hard working doctors have a limit as well.

Everyone deserves a break, especially our hard-working doctors. Ministry of Health’s Director General, Tagaloa Dr Robert Thomsen, has responded to the situation by saying doctors need time off. We all know that overworking and minimal rest will eventually take a toll on the human body, and mistakes will be made. In the medical field, that mistake could be costly.

For years, doctors and nurses have been bearing the load of the failure of the ministry and the government to adequately staff the hospital. Medical personnel sacrifice their time with family and children to abide by the oath they have taken. Yet, they become the subject of criticism. This has persisted because the leaders of the nation have so far been unable to come up with a solution.

The Dean of the Oceania University of Medicine, Professor Asiata Dr Satupaitea Viali, has highlighted the need for 100 more doctors in the health system to fill the current shortage in the public health service. The agreed fact is that there is a shortage of doctors. It is also agreed that doctors go above and beyond working hours to fill the shortage. It is also agreed that most doctors now do not want to work overtime because they are not being compensated accordingly.

We can also agree that the shortage of doctors is not a new issue and is not isolated to Samoa. The health ministry has a daunting task of filling the vacant positions, and we hope it can be done sooner rather than later.

Last year, outpatient hours had to be shortened to allow doctors and nurses to take a break and annual leave. The public is the most affected; however, they need to understand that this is a situation that is out of everyone’s hands.

According to the Ministry of Health in Samoa, there are about 120 doctors currently working in Samoa. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Samoa needs about 200 doctors minimum to cater for the number of people in Samoa, with an ideal ratio of 1 doctor to 1,000 people.

Since the beginning of OUM in 2002 and the beginning of the National University of Samoa School of Medicine in February 2014, these two local medical schools have added more than 50 doctors to the current pool of 120 doctors in Samoa, putting out seven to 10 medical graduates per year.

If OUM and SOM graduate 10 plus doctors per year for the next 10 years, we will have the 100 doctors that we need by 2033. There are currently about 50 Samoan students in the NUS SOM program and 19 OUM Samoan students in the OUM Program. If all these students graduate as doctors in the next six years, we will have another 69 doctors.

The government needs to truthfully focus on education and ensure all children can finish high school and provide a pathway to quality tertiary education; a lot of problems faced by the nation could be solved.

Samoa needs doctors, nurses, engineers, qualified people in the agricultural sector and other fields that require tertiary-qualified and experienced people.

If the government addresses education, hospitals in each district will be adequately staffed, and a doctor will be available at night in the district hospitals.