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Sunday, 19 May, 2024

FOCUS: NHI

Ramaphosa signs NHI Bill, but long road ahead still

Venilla Yoganathan - 0
The National Health Insurance Bill is now law, with President Cyril Ramaphosa yesterday signing the highly-contested sted legislation five years after it was first introduced in Parliament, paving the way for universal health coverage in South Africa. But, writes MedicalBrief, the status quo in the healthcare sector will remain as it is for a long time still as none of the mechanisms needed to implement the scheme have been put in place, making yesterday's signing a ceremonial gesture. Still, the unexpected...
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FOCUS: NHI

NHI Bill signing sets stage for protracted battle in courts

Venilla Yoganathan - 0
A flood of legal suits is set to follow the signing of the NHI Bill yesterday, and are almost certain to hold up the ambitious plan for long, notes MedicalBrief. Health professional groups, business organisations, trade unions and political parties have all vowed to challenge the legislation right up to the Constitutional Court. They include the Health Funders Association (HFA), the South African Medical Association (SAMA), the Board of Healthcare Funders (BHF), and the South African Health Professionals Collaboration. Business...
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NEWS UPDATE

New Bara CEO’s credentials under scrutiny

The appointment of Dr Nthabiseng Makgana as the CEO of Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital has raised concerns by workers and the HR department that she lacks the necessary senior management level experience or MBA qualifications, reports Daily Maverick. She has only three years’ management experience, not the requisite eight, according to correspondence from the HR department to the Gauteng Health Department (GDOH) and deputy director-general of corporate services, and neither has she actually completed her MBA. Meanwhile, staff say hospital standards have slumped since her appointment, with the facility running out of food and consumables, and with cleanliness and maintenance having also deteriorated. Makgana was announced as one of three CEOs of provincial academic hospitals in March. The correspondence relating to irregularities in her appointment (copied to the acting head of the Gauteng Health Department Arnold Malotana, chief director of human resource Mr E Ogle, and Deputy Director-General Basani Baloyi) seeks to...

HPCSA boss challenges disciplinary process

The president of the Health Professions Council of SA (HPCSA) is digging in his heels and questioning the council’s authority to haul him before a disciplinary inquiry for alleged financial irregularities. The inquiry was scheduled for 29 April but only started on 30 April because one of the committee members was unavailable. News24 reports that when it resumes this month, Professor Simon Nemutandani is expected to challenge the HPCSA’s jurisdiction to discipline him. In February, he was criticised for refusing to co-operate with the investigation conducted between 1 November 2020 and 30 September 2021. This followed allegations of financial impropriety levelled against him by the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) in a letter sent to Health Minister Joe Phaahla and the SA Medical Association (SAMA). SAMA referred the allegations to the HPCSA for further investigation. The investigation, completed on 18 February 2022, found that Nemutandani did not declare sources of...

Tembisa Hospital buckling under pressure of shortages

Gauteng Health’s MEC has admitted Tembisa Hospital is struggling to provide services to patients, thanks to 104 vacancies and a critical lack of equipment, but said a recruitment drive was under way and it was “working around the clock” to fill crucial posts. MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko said the facility was short of at least 27 nurses, seven operational managers, six medical officers, four medical specialists, three unit heads and a head of department, among other positions. Additionally, it desperately needs an EEG machine, an MRI, a pulmonary function unit, an anaesthetic machine and 10 extra Bellavista ventilators. The Citizen reports that since 2022, when the hospital’s CEO was suspended after allegations regarding the awarding of irregular tenders and contracts, the facility has been operating with an acting CEO. Whistle-blower Babita Deokaran was murdered after attempting to expose corruption at the hospital, estimated to run into the hundreds of millions. Nkomo-Ralehoko conceded that the staff and...

TAC calls for six-monthly ARV supply

The Treatment Action Campaign is urging national health clinics to supply HIV patients with ARV medication supplies for six months, instead of the current one to three months, saying the existing strategy contributed to erratic and irregular dosage regimes. To emphasise its call, members of the TAC protested at some Department of Health district offices in North West and Free State this week, reports The Citizen. A six-month plan would motivate people to stay on treatment because they would no longer need to visit clinics as frequently, while healthcare would not have to deal with long queues, said TAC spokesperson Morongwa Ntini. “Additionally, many patients have started on their ARV therapy and then stopped because of the poor conditions and unwelcoming environment in clinics.” The current system only allows for a period of one to three months of treatment, yet research shows that some clinics are still struggling to supply a three-month package. “Only...

HSPCA petitioned over big tobacco sponsorship of medical education

The National Council Against Smoking (NCAS) has lodged an objection, with more than 50 signatories, with the Health Professions Council of SA (HPCSA) over tobacco giant Phillip Morris International’s (PMI) sponsorship of medical education for doctors. All registered healthcare professionals are required to stay up to date by completing Continuing Professional Development (CPD) events provided by HPCSA-accredited organisations – often sponsored by healthcare companies, like pharmaceutical manufacturers. The NCAS wrote to the HPCSA on 18 April asking it to investigate the alleged PMI sponsorship, in November, of a CPD event held by Alliance of South African Independent Practitioners Association (ASAIPA), and to withdraw the points accredited to doctors if it found this were indeed the case. The event took place just as the National Council of Provinces was mulling over stringent new tobacco control laws, reports Business Day. PMI’s sponsorship of CPD events breached the Tobacco Products Control Act, which prohibits the sponsorship...

Pfizer pauses study after boy’s death in Duchenne trial

A child has died in Pfizer’s phase 2 study of its gene therapy candidate for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, the rare genetic disorder that primarily affects boys, according to a patient advocacy group. On 7 May, Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy published a letter it received from Pfizer announcing the patient’s death in the drugmaker’s Daylight study. Becker’s Hospital Review reports that the phase 2 trial is researching the safety and efficacy of fordadistrogene movaparvovec among boys aged two to four. Test sites include hospitals in Florida, Utah, Pennsylvania and Australia. While it investigates the death, Pfizer has paused dosing in its phase 3 Ciffreo study – which overlaps with Daylight, and tests the drug among boys aged four to eight. The company is continuing other trial activities. “We do not yet have complete information and are working with the trial site investigator to understand what happened,” Pfizer said in the letter. “The patient received the investigational...

FDA recall as faulty insulin app crashes

More than 200 people with diabetes were injured when their insulin pumps shut down unexpectedly after a problem with a connected mobile app, the US Food and Drug Administration announced last week. Version 2.7 of the t:connect Apple iOS app – used with the t:slim X2 insulin pump with Control-IQ – has now been recalled due to a software issue that causes the app to crash and relaunch. This cycle drains the pump battery, causing it to shut down sooner than expected and suspend insulin delivery, reports CNN. The issue “may result in hyperglycaemia or even diabetic ketoacidosis, which can be a life-threatening condition due to high blood sugars and lack of insulin”, the FDA said. There had been 224 reported injuries as of 15 April. No deaths have been reported. The app was distributed between 12 February and 13 March, and more than 85 000 have been recalled, the agency said in its announcement...

Master plan to boost SA’s medtech sector

To grow SA’s prospects in the medical technology (medtech) sector, the Department of Trade, Industry & Competition (DTIC) has unveiled a master plan aimed at expanding local production, reducing the dependence on imports, and creating jobs. The pandemic illustrated the pitfalls of the country’s excessive reliance on imports, the inadequate supply of essential products, and the urgent need to optimise the economic and health system advantages of building a stronger local medtech industry, reports ITWeb. Spearheaded by the DTIC, the project was launched in partnership with industry, government and labour at the Industrial Development Corporation in Johannesburg on Monday. Signatories include the DTIC, national Department of Health, South African Medical Technology Industry Association (SAMED), CSIR and Medical Device Manufacturers of South Africa. The aim is to strengthen the sector and set it on a growth trajectory over the next three years. A focus will be on developing small and medium enterprises to eventually...

Mpox case confirmed in Gauteng

Gauteng authorities have confirmed a case of mpox at Ahmed Kathrada Hospital in Lenasia after a 35-year-old local man tested positive for the disease, reports The Citizen. The patient, who lives in Savanna City just outside De Deur, apparently has no history of travel. This fresh case is the sixth confirmed in South Africa, with the other five forming part of an outbreak between June and October 2022. Globally, there have been 73 436 confirmed cases of mpox from 109 countries under World Health Organisation monitoring. No South African has died as a result of contracting the disease, but 29 deaths have been reported worldwide. City of Johannesburg MMC for Health and Social Development Ennie Makhafola urged healthcare workers to be on high alert and aware of any patients presenting with unexplained acute rashes or skin lesions. Additional symptoms of concern include headache, a fever of over 38.5°C, swollen lymph nodes and body aches. “Infection begins...

Time for euthanasia law reform, academic says

A KZN academic, who is among a growing number of professionals calling for euthanasia to be legalised, has proposed a legal framework which empowers patients and doctors while respecting the right to life, dignity, autonomy and the rule of law. Dr Suhayfa Bhamjee investigated the topic as part of her PHD thesis titled: “Death and dying in a constitutional democracy – an analysis of the South African criminal law and a call for law reform”, The Sunday Tribune reports. In February this year, MedicalBrief reported that a number of respected South African medical experts, including professors, oncologists, ethicists and anaesthesiologists, had thrown their weight behind a pending court challenge to legalise assisted suicide, saying euthanasia does not offend the modern Oath of Hippocrates – a main argument of opponents to the practice. Bhamjee added that while there was “a line between euthanasia and murder, it’s for legislation to draw that line and...

UK inquiry hears of mothers' maternity trauma

A British parliamentary inquiry into birth trauma has called for a national plan to improve maternity care, declaring that good care is “the exception rather than the rule”. Published this week, the inquiry report detailed shocking stories including of mothers being left to lie in their own blood and urine, or having their concerns about their baby’s health dismissed, which in some cases resulted in death. The report found “poor care is all frequently tolerated as normal, and women are treated as an inconvenience”, reports The Independent. Among the included recommendations is the creation of a maternity commissioner reporting to the Prime Minister. The report was led by two MPs, Theo Clarke and Rosie Duffield. Clarke said the “horrific” testimony “has shone a light on how we must do so much better when it comes to maternity services”. NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard said the experiences of more than 1 300 women who have given evidence to...

Theranos founder Holmes has more jail time cut

Imprisoned Silicon Valley CEO Elizabeth Holmes has shaved more months from her initial 11-year-plus sentence for wire fraud and conspiracy, and is due to be released two years earlier than expected. The disgraced founder of failed blood-testing startup Theranos entered a US prison in May 2023 after being handed a 135-month prison sentence for defrauding investors out of hundreds of millions of dollars. According to the Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Holmes  has a current release date of 16 August 2032 from a women’s federal prison in Texas. Last July, her expected release date was listed as 29 December 2032, reports CNBC. While the BOP declined to comment specifically about her status, it said that “projected release dates are calculated with several factors in mind”. Inmates are eligible for “good conduct time”, and those who qualify can earn up to 54 days for each year of sentence imposed by the court. Prisoners can also slice time off their sentences by earning time...

SOME RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS IN THE PAST WEEK

CARDIOVASCULAR

CVD benefits from weight-loss drugs a 'game-changer'

Two important studies were presented at this year’s European Congress on Obesity (ECO), based on the landmark Semaglutide and Cardiovascular Outcomes (SELECT) trial from the same international author group. Led by Professor John Deanfield from University College London, one study examined the relationship between weight measures at baseline and change in weight during the study with cardiovascular outcomes. The other study, led by Professor Donna Ryan from Pennington Biomedical Research Centre, New Orleans, examined the long-term weight effects of semaglutide. Deanfield said the anti-obesity injections reduced the CVD risk in obese people regardless of the amount of weight they lost while on...

DERMATOLOGY

New tailored vaccine could help treat childhood eczema – Irish study

Researchers suggest a new vaccine, tailored to individual “immune signatures”, may help treat eczema flares in children. The multi-disciplinary team from Trinity College, Dublin suggests this “tailored vaccine” could affectively tame the bacteria-driven eczema. In their findings, published in JCI Insight, the team said they identified new cellular targets for a vaccine after furthering their understanding of how the immune response works in eczema cases caused by the common staphylococcus aureusbacterium. Characterised by dry, itchy skin and “weeping” wounds when bacteria is involved, the wounds can become more serious infections and impact someone’s quality of life, reports MedicalNewsToday. In rare cases, eczema can...

DIET

Ultra-processed food linked to higher death risk – 30-year study

A three-decades’ long study has concluded that although higher consumption of most ultra-processed foods is linked to a slightly higher risk of death, it found no associations for deaths due to cardiovascular diseases, cancer or respiratory diseases. Ready-to-eat meat, poultry and seafood based products, sugary drinks, dairy based desserts as well as highly processed breakfast foods showed the strongest associations, said the researchers. They added that not all ultra-processed food products should be universally restricted, but that their findings “provide support for limiting consumption of certain types of ultra-processed food for long-term health”, reports News-Medical.net. Their findings were published in The BMJ. Ultra-processed...

Can consuming olive oil help reduce dementia?

Harvard University researchers recently suggested that adding just a spoonful of olive oil to your diet every day not only provides powerful health benefits but also reduces the risk of dementia by up to 28%. The findings, however, have been dissected by another expert who believes there are more limitations to the study than conceded by the authors, and that the type of person who eats a lot of olive oil is simply different from the type of person who doesn’t. For one thing, olive oil is expensive, he observed. But the researchers argue that while healthy “Mediterranean” diets in general...

NEUROLOGY

Gene type causes Alzheimer’s, suggest Spanish experts
 

Scientists are proposing a new way of understanding the genetics of Alzheimer’s that would mean that up to a fifth of patients would be considered to have a genetically caused form of the disease. Most Alzheimer’s cases do not have a clearly identified cause, but the new designation, proposed in a recent study led by Spanish researchers, could broaden the scope of efforts to develop treatments, including gene therapy, and affect the design of clinical trials. The New York Times reports that this could also mean that hundreds of thousands of people could, if they chose, receive a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s...

OPHTHALMOLOGY

CRISPR gene-editing improves vision in blind children – US trial

About 79% of clinical trial participants experienced measurable improvement after receiving experimental CRISPR-based gene editing that is designed to fix a rare form of blindness, according to the specialists involved in the recent research. “This trial shows CRISPR gene editing has exciting potential to treat inherited retinal degeneration,” said Mark Pennesi, MD, PhD, a corresponding author on the paper, an ophthalmologist and Oregon Health & Science University’s lead scientist for the phase 1/2 BRILLIANCE trial. “There is nothing more rewarding than hearing a patient describe how their vision has improved after a treatment,” he said. “One of our trial participants has...

ORTHOPAEDICS

High mortality risk after hip breaks in elderly – Canadian analysis 

A recent analysis found poor survival rates after bone fractures in older adults, with fewer than a third of men and half of women surviving five years afterwards, and with hip fractures posing the highest mortality risk. Survival most dramatically declined within one month after most types of fracture, with a five-year survival being similar to or worse than some common cancers, said the researchers. The study looked at a cohort of 98 474 Ontario residents aged 66 and older who suffered fractures to parts of the body associated with osteoporosis between January 2011 and March 2015. The patients were grouped...

VACCINE RESEARCH

mRNA cancer jab shows promise for brain cancer treatment – US study

Researchers have developed an mRNA cancer vaccine they suggest could help treat the common but deadly brain cancer glioblastoma, which affects about three in every 100 000 people worldwide each year. Generally, people with this condition have an average survival length of about a year. The scientists from the University of Florida say the new vaccine could retrain the body’s immune system to attack and potentially treat glioblastoma, cases of which are on the rise in many parts of the world due to ageing populations and environmental factors like air pollution. Glioblastoma is a particularly challenging cancer to treat and has an average five-year...

ABOUT US

MedicalBrief is Africa’s authoritative weekly digest of medical matters, both on the continent and around the world. It brings you a succinct summary of the latest developments, both in news and research, with links to the original material. Contact us: info@medicalbrief.co.za

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