It appealed to the doctors to give imminent Bargaining Council negotiations "a chance to succeed".

Doctors downed tools in some hospitals in Gauteng on Thursday, the department said in a statement, but did not detail how many doctors and which hospitals.

Acknowledging the challenges over particularly remuneration and general working conditions facing doctors and other health professionals in the public service, it said it had put policies in place to strengthen the health sector and provide a conducive working environment.

All remuneration issues formed part of an Occupation Specific Dispensation (OSD) which had yet to be completed in the Bargaining Chamber.

"The Department regrets the delay in getting to a speedy resolution of the matter," it said.

"The fact that no resolution has been reached on these matters [has] to do with its complexity." Negotiations would start soon in the Bargaining Council.

It wanted to avoid a repetition of mistakes made last year when the OSD for nurses was implemented.

The department said contingency measures were in place to ensure the continued functioning of the emergency services and intensive care units in hospitals affected by the strike.

Although aware of the strike, the South African Medical Association (Sama) said it had not organised the action and did not sanction it, but it did sympathise with their plight.

"That the doctors involved have embarked upon this action on their own, is indicative of the levels of frustration they are experiencing," Sama chairwoman Denise White said in a statement.

Sama would continue its internal and external engagement efforts to resolve the impasse, she said.

It was confident the striking doctors would remain mindful of their medico-ethical duties towards patients, especially as far as urgent and life-threatening conditions were concerned.

White said the OSD — which was to have been implemented in July 2008 — was aimed at not just improving doctors' remuneration package, but at addressing their career-pathing opportunities in the public healthcare system.

"It is understandable that our doctors are becoming increasingly disillusioned and frustrated not only because of the continuing delays, but also on account of the real possibility that the OSD might not be implemented as expected, because of alleged budgetary constraints.

"This will be disastrous for the country's already beleaguered public healthcare system as it is likely to accelerate the exodus of doctors, and further diminish the sector's capacity to provide optimal care for the communities who are dependent on public health services," she said.

Sama called on the health ministry and the government to urgently implement the OSD, back-dated to July 2008, as promised.

A health spokesperson could not be reached for more details about the strike.