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News Update
KZN’s emergency medical services in dire straits
Life support is urgently needed for the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in KwaZulu-Natal, according to a recent report, which found that more than half...
MP calls for scrapping of costly medical scheme
Members of Parliament and other office bearers should be allowed to choose their own medical scheme, and not be made to sign up for...
Hospital patients battling without hot water for three months
Patients at Pholosong Regional Hospital in Tsakane, Gauteng, have been struggling to bath or shower for nearly three months – with visitors having to...
Cape dental students protest against delayed lectures
The Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) has denied that dental classes for 2026 have not yet started – despite protesting students saying lectures...
Millions diverted from circumcision project to actress and cronies
The Special Investigation Unit (SIU) has revealed that R20.56m in grant funding for a circumcision project from the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) was instead...
US hospital sues to evict patient who won’t leave
Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare has sued a patient who refuses to leave her hospital room, despite being discharged in October, reports AP.
The hospital has also...
Citro-Soda recall after possible contamination
The SA Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) has issued a recall on some batches of Citro-Soda Regular amid concerns of possible contamination at a...
Psychiatric patient sets blanket on fire
A fire that led to the immediate evacuation of about 30 patients at Sebokeng Hospital last Thursday was started in a psychiatry holding room...
Judge sets deadline for rules on FMD jabs
As cattle continue to be ravaged by the highly contagious viral mouth and mouth disease (FMD), the Department of Agriculture has been given three...
National Health Lab Service IT system down – again
The National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS), which provides laboratory services to every single public sector health provider countrywide, reported a major disruption to its...
Bonitas-Medscheme row threatens jobs – Sanlam CEO
At least 5 000 jobs are at risk as the legal saga between Medscheme and Bonitas Medical Fund – which stripped it of long-term...
Ramaphosa says NHI still a realistic goal
Despite the many legal challenges impeding its proclamation, implementation of the National Health Act will proceed as planned, according to President Cyril Ramaphosa last...
Activists back in court over Dudula bullying of migrants
Three organisations have taken the Gauteng Department of Health back to court to enforce a court order, saying Operation Dudula thugs are still barring...
Guaranteed orders vital for anti-HIV jab production – Aspen
The country’s largest generic manufacturer, Aspen Pharmacare, has warned that local drugmakers will need guaranteed demand to produce Gilead’s twice-year HIV prevention shot lenacapavir,...
Limpopo team separates conjoined twins in complex surgery
Doctors in Limpopo made history after separating conjoined twin boys – born in January at Mankweng Hospital outside Polokwane – in a mammoth eight-hour surgical procedure on...
Discovery uses AI prompts to expedite health checks, diagnoses
AI-driven health prompts to Discovery Life clients are boosting the numbers of preventative screenings while lowering their costs of cover, reports Business Day.
The tool...
Gauteng Health denies debt affects services at Tshwane hospital
The Gauteng Department of Health has denied that R33m in unpaid supplier debt is forcing providers to restrict services to Odi District Hospital, or...
TB outbreak affects 200 at Durban homeless camp
Health authorities have confirmed a TB outbreak among a homeless settlement at North Beach, Durban, where nearly 200 people living in tents tested positive...
KZN neurosurgeons perform world-class treatment
A team of doctors on KwaZulu-Natal’s South Coast has achieved a major medical milestone for the region – removing a brain tumour without a...
DA calls for clarity on Health officials’ suspensions
The DA has questioned whether accountability and consequence management are prioritised in the Department of Health, calling on Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi to...
Zambia stands firm against US bullying over health support
The US State Department is threatening to withhold lifesaving health support to Zambia as a negotiating tactic to force that country’s government to sign...
Judge strikes down US vaccine policy changes
In a major blow to the Trump administration’s health agenda, a Massachusetts federal judge has blocked the US Government from implementing a series of...
Google bins AI search feature of amateur medical advice
Google has dumped a new artificial intelligence search feature that gave users crowdsourced health advice from amateurs around the world – not because of...
Africa summit flags fungal diseases as public health priority
A landmark summit held in Addis Ababa this month – Africa’s first event dedicated to fungal diseases – concluded with a multi-stakeholder commitment to...
Doctors arrested amid escalating tensions at Nairobi Hospital
One of Kenya’s leading private medical institutions, The Nairobi Hospital, is facing a deepening governance crisis after sudden arrests at the weekend of senior...
Eastern Cape clinic burglary pauses services
A burglary at Motherwell Community Health Centre in Nelson Mandela Bay during the early hours last Friday disrupted the clinic’s normal flow of business...
Recall of contaminated Clicks snacks
A batch of contaminated snacks on South African shelves have been recalled by the National Consumer Commission (NCC), which announced the alert regarding1 152...
Non-hormonal drug for hot flushes now offered by NHS England
A non-hormonal drug for treating hot flushes and night sweats during menopause is now available on the NHS in England when HRT (hormone replacement...
Journal admits case reports published for 25 years are fiction
A Canadian journal has issued corrections on 138 case reports it had published over the past 25 years to add a disclaimer: “The cases...
Fragmented optometry services an eye-opener for NHI
Universal health coverage cannot succeed with fragmented systems, weak data, and largely symbolic participation, so a recent court-ordered pause to NHI implementation offers a...
Eastern Cape Health boss faces HRC for department failures
The Human Rights Commission has ordered the beleaguered Eastern Cape Health Department to explain why it failed to address 27 public complaints – some...
Hospital must ask court to save teen’s life, says Minister
Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi plans to ask the Charlotte Maxeke Hospital to approach the courts to save the life of a critically-ill boy, who...
Inquiry judge orders review of ‘useless’ sick note
The ongoing Madlanga commission of inquiry into alleged police capture has raised issues about questionable, last-minute sick notes submitted by witnesses, saying it would...
Department denies ex-Tembisa CFO was ‘paid to leave’
Gauteng Health has denied claims that corruption-accused former CFO Lerato Madyo was paid to leave her role and given a “golden handshake” as alleged...
‘Defamation’ smears led to patient refusing ambulance services, court hears
The ongoing legal battle between KZN Transport MEC Siboniso Duma and ALS Paramedics escalated yesterday (Wednesday) into accusations of perjury and claims that a...
Menstrual products safe, confirm Motsoaledi, WHO, SAMRC
Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has added his reassurances to those of the government’s Social Protection, Community and Human Development cluster, which said this weekend...
Unions step up threats over GEMS increases
Union members of the Government Employees Medical Scheme (GEMS) have threatened to withdraw from the scheme – and are investigating legal action, as well...
SA leading the charge for made-in-Africa anti-HIV jab
South Africa’s National Aids Council (Sanac) has asked local drug companies to submit applications by 7 April to make generic versions of the anti-HIV...
Baby formula recalled in South Africa
The National Consumer Commission (NCC) has recalled baby formula produced by Nutricua Southern Africa, saying there is a possibility of toxin contamination within some...
Woman blames Eastern Cape hospital after open wound for 14 years
An Eastern Cape woman has spent 14 years in agony after an appendectomy left her with an open wound, which her family blames on...