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Thursday, 30 November, 2023

FOCUS: NHI

NHI Bill vote delayed as doctors and business urge amendments

Venilla Yoganathan - 0
A crucial vote on the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill was postponed yesterday, bringing relief to business groups and health professionals who had urged the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) not to pass the Bill in its present form, writes MedicalBrief. The NCOP was to have voted on the Bill yesterday, following the NCOP’s Select Committee on Health and Social Services last week approving it without any amendments. But The Citizen reports that the matter has since been deferred to...
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FOCUS: INFECTIOUS DISEASES

60m children who missed jabs in pandemic now at risk of killer diseases

Venilla Yoganathan - 0
Large outbreaks of diseases that mainly kill children are spreading around the world, a grim legacy of disruptions to health systems during the Covid-19 pandemic that have left more than 60m children without a single dose of standard childhood vaccines. By June this year, 47 countries were reporting serious measles outbreaks, compared with 16 countries in June 2020. Nigeria is facing the largest diphtheria outbreak in its history, with more than 17 000 suspected cases and nearly 600 deaths so...
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NEWS UPDATE

Justice committee slaps down medico-legal claims Bill

A Bill aimed at structuring the payment of medico-legal claims against the state has been rejected by Parliament’s Justice & Correctional Services Committee. The State Liability Amendment Bill was intended as an interim measure to deal with rising medico-legal claims, pending the outcome of a larger investigation into medico-legal claims...

Report on cheap medical aid options handed to Minister, finally

The Council for Medical Schemes has submitted its report on affordable medical scheme options to Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla – although the Board of Healthcare Funders (BHF) has questioned the decision. The BHF has argued that the regulator has the authority to grant exemptions to the Medical Schemes Act...

‘Walking pneumonia’ may be causing rise in paediatric illnesses worldwide

A surge in paediatric respiratory infections in China, mainly related to respiratory illnesses and pneumonia, has been attributed to respiratory syncytial virus, influenza, Covid-19, and perhaps most importantly, say experts, mycoplasma – a main cause of “walking pneumonia”. Last week, there were reports of an increase in hospital admissions, with...

MEC slams guards after patient denied clinic access dies

The Limpopo Department of Health has launched an investigation after a patient died at the entrance to Northam Clinic in the Waterberg District at the weekend, after being denied access by the security guards. IOL reports that the man was bleeding “from all body orifices” when he was taken to...

SAHRC to probe hundreds of complaints about public hospitals

An investigation has been launched by the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) into allegations of abuse and neglect of patients at dozens of state hospitals, described in a report released by the Freedom Front Plus last week. The FF+ had submitted the report, compiled from 73 complaints received from patients...

Fraud and waste costs medical aids billions every year

An eye-popping R30bn – or 15% of total revenue – is being lost by medical aids to fraud, waste and system abuse every year, heard the Healthcare Fraud, Waste and Abuse Indaba in Johannesburg last week. The event, organised by the Board of Healthcare Funders (BHF) and the Healthcare Forensic...

UK regulatory body warns about Paxlovid risks

Britain’s health regulator has issued a warning about Covid-19 medication Paxlovid and the potential for risk of harmful drug interactions because of the ritonavir component – due to its inhibition of the enzyme CYP3A that metabolises many commonly used drugs. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has recommended...

Australia bans disposable vape imports

In efforts to clamp down on nicotine addiction in children, Australia plans to ban the import of disposable vapes from January, while new laws to stop single-use vapes from being made, advertised and supplied will also be introduced. BBC reports that the measures are amid a broader push to phase...

Health systems must respond to growing NCD burden – Ramaphosa

President Cyril Ramaphosa says the new Dr Pixley Isaka Ka Seme Memorial Hospital in KwaMashu, north of Durban will help tackle the country’s growing healthcare burden of non-communicable diseases. Speaking at the opening of the hospital last week, Ramaphosa referred to a Statistics SA report published last month warning that...

Protesters call for new Gugulethu hospital

More than 100 people from several Cape Town townships marched to the Western Cape legislature this week to demand a new hospital in Gugulethu, saying the current facility, built more than half a century ago, can’t cope. The march was organised by the Movement for Change and Social Justice (MCSJ),...

First shipment of malaria vaccine reaches Cameroon

Cameroon received its first shipment of Mosquirix malaria vaccines manufactured by British drugmaker GSK last week – the 310 000 doses arriving as the nation struggles with the disease that kills more than 600 000 each year globally, mainly under-fives. Reuters reports that the vaccine, also known as RTS,S, was...

MEDICO-LEGAL

SA health NGOs join in cystic fibrosis drugs battle

The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) and Doctors without Borders (MSF) are being admitted as amicus curiae (friends of the court) in a case against US pharmaceutical giant Vertex, aimed at bringing its life-saving cystic fibrosis (CF) treatment to patients in South Africa. Vertex doesn’t sell the drugs in SA or...

Doctor charged with PPE fraud and theft

Gauteng Department of Health employee Dr Obakeng Stephen Mookeletsi – from Leratong Hospital – has appeared in court on charges of fraud, theft and money laundering. Mookeletsi, as well as the director of a company called Triakon Engineering, Jabu Mahlangu, appeared in the Johannesburg Specialised Commercial Crime Court this week,...

Gauteng Health in court over medical waste tender deal

The Gauteng Health Department is being sued in the Gauteng High Court (Johannesburg) after being accused of awarding a multimillion-rand medical waste tender – believed to be irregular and unlawful – to its preferred candidate during the procurement process. IOL reports that Buhle Medical Waste applied for an urgent interdict...

Judge rebukes RAF for disobeying court orders in hospital claims

A High Court judgment has slammed the conduct of the Road Accident Fund (RAF) and its CEO, Collins Letsoalo, and the manner in which it has refused to abide by valid court orders granted in favour of a Gauteng hospital. In a judgment handed down in the Gauteng High Court...

US hospital sued after mislabelled IV bag leads to patient's paralysis

A Pennsylvanian couple has launched a medical malpractice suit after the man, in hospital at the time with Covid, was given a paralysing agent by mistake, resulting in catastrophic side effects – and a reminder that errors can occur at any stage of the medication process, from prescribing to...

Patients sue Spanish government over banned painkiller

A patients group representing several British victims has launched legal action against the Spanish Government over claims it failed to safeguard people against the potentially fatal side effects of one of the country’s most popular painkillers, involved in a series of serious illnesses, sepsis, amputations and deaths. The drug metamizole,...

SOME RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS IN THE PAST WEEK

ANAESTHESIOLOGY

Large study unpacks role of anaesthesia perioperative cardiac arrests

A recent study, possibly the largest of its kind, examining all cardiac arrests occurring during or soon after surgery in more than 300 UK hospitals over 12 months, has identified that this often fatal event happens in three per 10 000 surgeries requiring anaesthesia. The study – the 7th National Audit...

EMERGENCY MEDICINE

Sepsis more likely to kill poor people – UK cohort study

Sepsis is more likely to kill poor people and those with existing health problems, according to a recent study, with the researchers saying their findings should help with earlier diagnosis and treatment of the condition. Sepsis, or blood poisoning, is a potentially fatal condition triggered when the body reacts to...

OBSTETRICS

Low rate of Down’s syndrome screening in SA , say experts

South African researchers have suggested that the rate of prenatal screening for trisomy 21 (the chromosomal defect that leads to the condition Down’s syndrome) is lower than it should be, urging more emphasis on this vital process in the public and private healthcare system. The researchers say despite the availability...

ONCOLOGY

Another study links ultra-processed food to higher cancer risk

Eating large quantities of ultra-processed (UPF) food has been associated with a higher risk of developing cancers of the upper digestive tract, like mouth, throat and oesophageal cancer, according to a recent study. In the study, people who consumed 10% more ultra-processed foods than others had a 23% higher risk...

NEUROLOGY

Austrian study supports 'Zoom fatigue' reports

With videoconferencing skyrocketing in popularity since the pandemic, there have been anecdotal accounts of a phenomenon some call “Zoom fatigue” – a unique state of exhaustion reported by those who feel shattered after video calls. Now a brain-monitoring study has supported the phenomenon, finding a connection between video-conferencing in educational...

PHARMACOLOGY

CVD risk upped by long-term use of ADHD drugs

A case-control study by Swedish scientists suggests that longer use of attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medication is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, particularly hypertension and arterial disease. Risk of cardiovascular disease rose with longer cumulative exposure to the drugs, peaking at three to five years of use...

PUBLIC HEALTH

Bleach ineffective in killing fatal hospital superbug – UK research

Liquid bleach does not kill off a hospital superbug that can cause fatal infections, found British researchers, saying it is no more effective than water, and calling for new approaches to tackle care-setting disinfection. Clostridium difficile, or C diff, is a type of bacteria found in the human gut, and...

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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