South Africa
GEMS' private healthcare benefit criticised in light of NHI
Trade union Solidarity has criticised the recent decision by the government’s biggest medical scheme to guarantee private hospital care to all its members, saying it was an admission of the state’s failure to run an effective public healthcare...'Sidelined' National Health DG leaves by 'mutual agreement'
National Health Department director-general Malebona Precious Matsoso, who last year complained that she had been "completely sidelined" over the NHI Bill, by has left by "mutual agreement". She served as the department's DG from 2010, having...SAHPRA warning: Still a 'serious offence' to deal in cannabis
South Africa’s medicines regulator and the police have warned the public that marketing and selling cannabis products remains illegal, except for specific conditions permitted under the Medicines and Related Substances Act. According to a...3 832 die in Gauteng’s public hospitals from 'negligent' SAEs
A total of 3 832 patients died last year in Gauteng public hospitals as a result of 10,741 serious adverse events (SAEs), which the Democratic Alliance claimed arose "largely from avoidable medical negligence". News24 reports that this...Private sector asks SANC to be allowed to train more nurses
Private hospitals have appealed to the SA Nursing Council (SANC) to allow them to train more nurses, warning that the decision to restrict numbers threatens the pipeline of future nurses. Business Day reports that the move to restrict numbers also...100,000 submissions on NHI but Parliament hasn't yet read one
The Portfolio Committee on Health has received about 100,000 submissions on the controversial National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill, but is yet to read one. To boot, there is about a month left for submissions. According to a report in The...Call for an end to Remunerative Work Outside Public Service by specialists
One in three specialists on the government's payroll also work in the private sector and abuse of the system is leaving state patients suffering, junior doctors unsupervised and medical students inadequately trained. Katharine Childs writes in...Doctors' union under administration following battle with SAMA
The South African Medical Association Trade Union (Samatu) has been placed under administration by the Labour Court following a protracted battle over the independence of the organisation. Eyewitness News reports that this happened after its own...SA's radiologists flocking to write equivalency exams in UK, Australia and NZ
Up to 80% of South Africa's radiologists are considering emigrating, according to a new Radiology Society of SA survey, cited in the Financial Mail. The National Health Insurance (NHI) numbers don’t stack up, writes Katharine Child in a...The next step in implementing NHI...
The next step in the introduction of National Health Insurance will be to ‘operationalise’ the presidential health compact, the recommendations of the 2018 SA Lancet Commission report, the Competition Commission’s health market inquiry and...President orders SIU probe into corruption at SAHPRA
The Special Investigating Unit will probe allegations of maladministration at the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA), Fin24 reports President Cyril Ramaphosa's gazetted proclamation, signed on 4 October 2019, says. The...Medical schemes still short-changing members over PMBs – CMS
Medical schemes continue to fail to pay or short-pay members' claims for prescribed minimum benefits (PMBs), sparking almost half of all complaints to the medical schemes regulator. According to a Sunday Times report, the Council for Medical...Wits denies review of Cohen medical exam marking method
The University of the Witwatersrand has denied newspaper claims that it is reviewing the Cohen 60 marking assessment method, saying "no decision ... political nor academic" was being considered. A political decision to consider reviewing an...Inquiry told schemes may have missed 'implicit racial bias'
While medical schemes were apparently “at pains” to avoid any obvious racial profiling, attempts to be colour blind may have had the unintended effect of making it more difficult to address racial bias, a witness told the CMS inquiry...Provincial health departments owe R9.5bn in unpaid invoices
Government debt in unpaid business invoicse has increased since March, with provincial health departments the worst offenders, owing R9.5bn, says the Democratic Alliance. Leon Schreiber, Democratic Alliance (DA) shadow minister for public...