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News Update
International virology award for Professor Tulio De Oliveira
An international award was recently bestowed on Professor Tulio de Oliveira, director of the Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation (CERI) at Stellenbosch University,...
Probe after video suggests clinic nurses were inebriated
The Western Cape Department of Health & Wellness is investigating allegations of drinking on duty after two apparently drunk Hanover Park healthcare workers were...
Gauteng Health accelerates hospital upgrades and new builds
Plans for a brand new academic hospital in Gauteng are being advanced, says the Gauteng Department of Health, as are those for a 300-bed...
Tygerberg Hospital upgrade a step closer
The much needed – and long-talked about – redevelopment of Tygerberg Hospital is one of the Western Cape’s “mega-builds for future infrastructure and a...
Gauteng EMS staff in overtime dispute
Claims that Gauteng EMS staff were suspended for refusing to work overtime with extra pay have been denied by the Department of Health, reports...
Private health sector still losing billions to fraud and waste
South Africa’s private health sector is continuing to be bled dry by thieves and cheats, with an eye-watering R30bn lost to fraud, waste and...
Diabetes deaths, especially among women, on the rise
The scourge of diabetes shows no sign of waning in South Africa, with the latest Stats SA Mortality Report revealing that the disease accounted for...
UJ hits the road with new mobile eye clinic
The University of Johannesburg (UJ), in partnership with the South African Muslim Charitable Trust (SAMCT), has launched a R2.5m mobile optometry clinic to take...
Alleged boss of global healthcare hacker group arrested
Dutch authorities have arrested an alleged leader of ShinyHunters, the cybercriminal group that has targeted global healthcare organisations and their third-party vendors – and which also...
US judge rules racism lawsuit against organ transplant group can proceed
A Boston, USA, judge ruled last week that the NPO that manages the organ transplant system in the country can’t wriggle out of claims...
Netcare patient bed days on the up
With demand for private healthcare remaining consistent, Netcare has said it remains on track to deliver its full-year guidance, with total paid patient days...
Herbalist arrested, stash of mercury, cash seized
A Hawks raid on an Mpumalanga herbalist shop netted R60 000 and large amounts of mercury, with police now investigating the illegal sales while...
NHS staff face suspension for record-snooping
As part of a “zero-tolerance crackdown” on snooping, instant suspension is on the cards for NHS England staff suspected of looking at patient records...
Lassa fever still a worry in Nigeria
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has recorded 1 086 confirmed Lassa fever cases and 259 deaths across 24 states and...
Patients turned away as national medicines stock levels drop
South Africa is experiencing widespread shortages of essential medicines, including folic acid, epilepsy medication, contraceptives and antibiotics, with some products out of stock for...
Hospital fails in bid to axe oncologist accused of racism, homophobia, sexism
In a blow to Cape Town’s Life Vincent Pallotti Hospital, the High Court has refused it leave to appeal against a ruling that restored...
BHF pushes for reforms after 'unrealistic' CMS fee increase
The Board of Healthcare Funders (BHF) has slammed the industry regulator’s guidance on contribution increases for 2027, saying it has failed to consider soaring...
How Tembisa ‘looter’ bribed officials
Gauteng Health officials and their girlfriends raked in luxury cars and cash as payoffs from alleged kingpin Stefan Govindraju during the Tembisa Hospital grand...
High costs block SA babies’ access to crucial RSV jabs
The high cost of two newly-licensed interventions that protect babies against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is blocking their introduction into South Africa’s public health...
Taxman seeks R2bn from alleged Tembisa Hospital tender kingpin
The SA Revenue Services wants R1.9bn from alleged Tembisa Hospital kingpin Hangwani Morgan Maumela, who has still not been formally charged in the looting...
Mpox surges in SA and 11 African countries
South Africa is seeing a surge in mpox infections, with at least 18 new cases reported – mostly in the Western Cape – while...
Fate of CPUT dental programme hangs in the balance
The South African Dental Technicians Council (SADTC) is expected to consider Cape Peninsula University of Technology’s (CPUT) representations before deciding whether to forge ahead...
Ten-year delay in R2.8bn hospital build drags on with more hiccups
Community unrest and the liquidation of a contractor have been blamed for further delays to the decade-long construction of the (new) Mapulaneng Regional Hospital...
Call for probe into woman’s death outside Cape clinic
A seven-page memorandum demanding urgent intervention over poor service delivery, excessive waiting times, and patient safety concerns at the Bishop Lavis Community Day Centre...
FDA approves first drug for rare, life-threatening disease
Sufferers of a very rare, progressive neurological disorder will, for the first time, have access to an FDA-approved medication, reports MassLive News.
The Food and Drug...
Warning after peptide user’s oesophagus tears from fake product
A patient whose oesophagus was torn after taking a counterfeit version of experimental weight loss drug retatrutide has prompted Australia’s medicines regulator to warn...
FDA warns of serious misuse risks of double-chin fat dissolver
An FDA labelling update has cautioned that unapproved use of deoxycholic acid injection (Kybella) outside the submental fat region may carry a risk of...
Greek baby born from embryo frozen for more than 22 years
A couple in Athens welcomed a baby daughter last week after using one of the mother’s decades-old embryos – and simultaneously, beating a government...
Jehovah’s Witnesses revise blood donor ban for followers
Jehovah’s Witnesses have partly eased their long-standing prohibition on the medical use of donated blood, allowing members to receive products derived from blood but...
Court allows use of hospital records in Matlala trial
The Gauteng High Court (Johannesburg) ruled this week that the state can use hospital records to rest the credibility of murder accused Musa Kekana...
Cape clinic staff fed up with safety issues
Traumatised staff at the Kalbaskraal Satellite Clinic, outside Malmesbury in the Western Cape, were safely evacuated last week after a group of men barged...
Leaked report shows hundreds of NHS orthopaedic paediatric patients harmed
Hundreds of orthopaedic patients – mostly children – suffered “harm” at an NHS hospital in England, which is currently reviewing cases dealt with by...
DRC kicks off Ebola vaccine rollout for health and frontline workers
The Ebola vaccine was rolled out this weekend in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with the priority being on healthcare staff in Bunia,...
New film flags cancer treatment inequalities in SA’s health systems
Only one of the 13 public hospitals treating childhood cancer in South Africa has a blood bank on site, and just three have transplant...
Asbestos-linked death finally triggers action from Limpopo Health
Residents of Mafefe village in Limpopo are being screened for asbestos-related illnesses as government moves to address contamination from abandoned mines that closed more...
Judge dismisses compounding pharmacy's appeal
A High Court application by compounding pharmacy iDexis for leave to appeal against an interim order prohibiting it from making medicines containing semaglutide has...
New TB vaccines could prevent 7.3m deaths worldwide by 2050 – Gavi
The new TB vaccines expected to become available from 2029 could save more than 7m lives over a decade, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, said...
Stats SA defends data after scepticism over unvaccinated babies
Stats SA has defended its population data, which the National Department of Health said last week may have skewed its estimates of childhood vaccination...
Jobless doctors 'spiralling into depression'
The continuing situation faced by unemployed doctors is reaching crisis point, with some saying the government is “holding them hostage”, and others, who are...
Down Syndrome man’s liver transplant inspires donor campaign
When Jan-Herman Els, a young athlete and swimmer with Down Syndrome, underwent a successful liver transplant, it raised important questions for healthcare professionals, families...