Hello.
My name is Sweetson Phillip. I’ve been working in SA in a private hospital since September 2007 and have been enjoying it very much. Anthony has asked me to give you a bit information on life in SA.
1) Food
We get allmost everything here in SA, except real Indian spices… so please bring enough of those when you come to SA.
2) Cellphones
You can bring your own handset from India, and just get a simcard from SA. The cheapest one, according to me, is MTN. However, take note that it is quite expensive to phone / sms to India…. Rather use a worldcall card that you can buy from almost any shop here.
3) Clothing
Make sure to bring a jersey / warm clothes for winter time. That depends on which city you are going to. Cape Town is rather cold and wet during winter time.
4) Language
Please ensure that you speak AND understand english, seeing that this is the only way to communicate with non-Indians.
5) Religion
Seeing that I am a christian, I would like to inform all other christians that it is very easy to join any denomination. I have joined a very nice church and the people of my church became very good friends of mine.
6) Safety and security
Me and my friends here in Cape Town are very happy with our accomodation, and we feel very safe and secure.
7) Transport
We make use of our hospital transfer to get to work and back. For any other transport, we rely on our South-African friends and colleagues to help us. You also have the option of public transport (bus, taxi etc).
Banking
Me and my friends all make use of ABSA bank in SA. ABSA is linked to ICICI, so it takes only about 12 hours for your money to be transferred to India. Some of the other banks may take up to 15 days to transfer the money.
9) Last but not the least:
Bring some pictures of your family, nice music and books to read. If you can, try to bring your laptop from India. You can make use of a Flycard to connect to the internet.

I am very happy in SA! Hope you will have the same positive experience! Let me know if you want to see any pictures.
psweetson@yahoo.com
Sweetson Philli

Hello everyone – welcome to our new blog for all Indian nurses currently in South Africa and those still under process to come and further their careers in South Africa. The site is designed to allow for a free flow of information from those nurses already settled in South Africa to help those still to arrive as well as to form a platform for pictures, exchange of information and news and a place to meet online that is specific to you.

Fresh Arrivals

My first update is to post the pictures from my recent trip to East London to meet with the 7 nurses who started 2 weeks before I got there. They are the first batch to start for Life Healthcare, the rest will be joining them at the beginning of November once we have their exam results (due next week.)

Settling In

After some initial teething problems for the 7 who have started they are in a comfortable situation now.
There was some confusion about the after tax salary which we had showed and explained at the interview. However, this has been now clarified by the hospital.

The Accomodation

They are living in a very nice house which is close to the shops and banks. Transport has been arranged from the house to the hospital and they will have completed their inductions and begin working overtime by the end of the month.

Part of the House

I am posting the pictures I took while I was there for you to see,I will update these again shortly.
Please feel free to post your own pictures and information here.

The Locality

We will be posting more information on shopping, phone cards and the like.
Kind regards and I will update again very soon.

Best wishes

Anthony

I have just arrived into South Africa at the start of my 3 week business trip. The sun is shining, but it is very cool which I suppose I should not be surprised at since it is Winter!

We had 7 nurses from India start work last week for a private hospital group in East London. I will be travelling to see them during the course of my stay and seeing how they have settled down. I am also due for dinner with our first batch of nurses from India who are working for 3 hospitals in Cape Town. I will be alerting everyone to this blog so that they can post their experiences and tips for those still coming.

We have had notification this week of the nurses who have been cleared to write the SANC exam in November in Bangalore. We are processing these papers now and are expecting some 160 nurses to be writing – get studying!!! I will update more towards the end of my trip. Anthony

 anthony@udusrecruitment.com

Anthony

http://www.udusindia.com/medical

Udus Consultancy Services have successfully placed more than 200 healthcare professionals into the South African healthcare system. Udus’ forte is its extensive and in-depth knowledge of the healthcare sector and its peculiar requirements in terms of vetting, quality systems , back ground checks and detailed skills assessment of personnel.

With offices in India and the UK, the focus is on compliance. Working in conjunction with health authorities in three continents, our systems and procedures incorporate all necessary checks that are required by quality healthcare providers of International standards.

Currently undertaking a huge project for providing qualified nurses to the healthcare sector in South Africa, Udus India has been successful in placing circa 200 highly trained nurses in Africa. In this blog we welcome all of you who have worked, are working or about to work through us – this is your forum to exchange information, ask questions, clear doubts, share experiences with colleagues.

Udus Consultancy Services is currently negotiating with the NHS to source Physicians of various specialities and experiences from various parts of the world. We will soon provide a platform for Doctors to talk about your experiences and use this forum to reach out.