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News Update
Nelson Mandela Bay doctor accused of teen rape released on bail
A state-employed Nelson Mandela Bay doctor (56) charged with the rape of a teenager was granted bail of R5 000 on Friday in the...
Surgeries cancelled as Grey’s Hospital struggles without air-conditioning
The recent heatwave has exacerbated an ongoing crisis at Grey’s Hospital in Pietermaritzburg, where the central air-conditioning system remained non-functional, leaving operating theatres and...
Stellenbosch scientist leads global fight against AMR
A Stellenbosch biochemist has been selected to lead one of only two African teams in a $60m global consortium aimed at transforming antibiotic discovery...
Planned protests after trade unions reject GEMS hikes
The proposed hefty contribution increase announced by the Government Employees Medical Scheme (GEMS) has been roundly rejected by unions in the Public Service Co-ordinating...
Four surgeries for Gauteng boy who swallowed magnetic balls
A nine-year-old boy from Germiston is finally out of the woods after his fourth surgery since accidentally swallowing three sensory magnetic balls last May,...
US health bosses zoom in on processed food safety
The US Food and Drug Administration will consider a petition to revoke the safety status of dozens of processed refined carbohydrates unless food companies...
WHO slams US-funded baby vaccine trial in Guinea-Bissau
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has condemned the proposed and now-suspended randomised controlled trial planning to withhold the hepatitis B birth dose vaccine from...
Expert UKZN alumni flags sleep apnoea cardiovascular risk
The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) recently welcomed back one of its distinguished alumni, internationally acclaimed Professor Virend Somers, who delivered a lecture on: Sleep...
Australian honour for Durban-born neurosurgeon
Former Durbanite Dr Ron Jithoo has been recognised with one of Australia's highest civilian honours, reports The Witness.
Jithoo was recently awarded the Medal of...
SAHPRA gives Section 21 approval for FMD jab
The SA Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) last week gave emergency authorisation for the importation of the Dollvet FMD vaccine, bringing some relief for...
Paediatric illness outbreak in Eastern Cape
A cluster of paediatric illness cases in Aberdeen, in the Sarah Baartman District of the Eastern Cape, has prompted a warning from the provincial...
ConCourt shifts focus in NHI assent challenge
Organisations questioning President Cyril Ramaphosa’s assent to the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill heard this week that the Constitutional Court first wants to hear from...
Pharmacy firms face Competition Commission probe
The Competition Commission is investigating several pharmaceutical manufacturers after a complaint from the Health Department.
Business Day reports that the companies include Ascendis, Pharma Q...
Sizwe Hosmed now under fire from CMS
Troubled Sizwe Hosmed medical scheme, already floundering under curatorship, is now under fire from the Council for Medical Schemes (CMS), which has accused it...
Livingstone Hospital evicts 50 nurses
More than 50 nurses have been evicted from what was meant to be temporary accommodation at Livingstone Hospital, forcing many to scramble for places...
Nelson Mandela Bay doctor accused of raping teen
A doctor in Nelson Mandela Bay, who is employed in a government hospital, appeared in the Kariega Magistrate’s Court on Monday accused of luring...
Cape doctor wins half a million in Labour Court battle
The Cape Town Labour Court has dismissed an application by the provincial Department of Health to appeal a ruling finding the precautionary suspension of...
First Eastern Cape public IVF clinic opens
Eastern Cape Health has just launched the province’s first public in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) clinic, which opened at Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital in Mthatha last...
KZN MEC stands by claims about private paramedics
KwaZulu-Natal Transport & Human Settlements MEC Siboniso Duma has said he will not retract his remarks or apologise for insulting private paramedics, reports News24.
Duma's...
USAID dismantling could mean 9.4m deaths by 2030 – Lancet study
It’s been one year since the Trump administration dismantled the US Agency for International Development (USAID), with aid cuts leading to the closure of...
WHO flags data risks with rapid escalation of AI in healthcare
A WHO report on a five-year digital transformation strategy framework was the focus of a debate last week over who owns the data in...
US threatens Gavi over vaccines ingredient
The US Government has threatened to withdraw all future funding unless Gavi, the vaccine alliance, removes the ingredient thimerosal from its vaccines. This comes...
Hospitals, clinics, battered by Limpopo floods
Persistent heavy rains and flooding have caused extensive damage to a number of health facilities in Limpopo, leaving some partially inaccessible while others are...
Japan to start Nipah virus human vaccine trial
A team of researchers in Japan has announced a clinical trial to confirm a vaccine’s efficacy against the deadly Nipah virus in humans, for...
EthiQal Recognition Programme launches
The newly launched, first of its kind, EthiQal Recognition Programme strives to acknowledge professional conduct that reflects a commitment to the delivery of excellent...
Ramaphosa seeks Constitutional Court intervention on NHI ruling
The Constitutional Court has been asked by President Cyril Ramaphosa and Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi to overturn the Gauteng High Court judgment declaring...
Bonitas cuts ties with Medscheme
A four-decade long relationship has ended after Bonitas severed its ties with medical scheme administrator Medscheme, appointing Momentum and Private Health Administrators (PHA) to...
Call to exempt mental health experts from VAT
The cost of mental healthcare in South Africa – and the shortage of providers in the field – means that more and more people...
Lawsuit threat after KZN MEC slams private paramedics
KwaZulu-Natal Transport MEC Siboniso Duma has accused a private ambulance service in Durban of “bulldozing” their way into accident scenes, bullying law enforcement, inflating...
Mpumalanga hires 100 new doctors
The appointment of nearly 100 new doctors last week at clinics and hospitals in Mpumalanga would strengthen primary healthcare and boost service delivery, said...
Hospital CEOs in hot water over Israeli delegation visit
Eastern Cape Health MEC Ntandokazi Capa has launched an investigation into two hospital CEOs who allowed an Israeli diplomatic delegation to tour their facilities...
Eastern Cape patients risk lives in local clinics, report finds
Political parties have slammed the findings of an oversight report exposing appalling conditions at health facilities in the Eastern Cape’s Buffalo City Metro and...
Aids drug supply resumes as Barrs exits business rescue
Barrs Pharmaceuticals, which was unable to supply its share of the government’s Aids drug tender, has exited business rescue and sold a controlling stake...
Deputy President’s son’s link to IDT oxygen plants controversy
Investigations into the now controversial R836m PSA oxygen plants tender have revealed that Thabiso Mashatile, son of Deputy President Paul Mashatile, had personally signed...
Patient's 10-hour wait highlights Rahima Moosa staff crisis
A Johannesburg hospital has apologised to a couple who endured a frustrating 10-hour wait for attention last week, despite their pleas for help and...
Western Cape diphtheria cases on the rise
The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) has warned that cases of toxigenic respiratory diphtheria are increasing, particularly in the Western Cape, where booster...
Patient forced to travel 350km to treat broken finger
A broken finger that should have been easily treated turned into a major drama for an Eastern Cape patient, who was forced to travel...
Nipah virus cases in India trigger Asian airport screenings
After the recording of two confirmed cases of the Nipah virus in West Bengal, India, authorities in parts of Asia – Singapore, Thailand and...
FDA halts two gene therapy trials after child develops brain tumour
Two investigational gene therapies for rare paediatric diseases have been put on hold by the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) after a child...
US doctor charged in battered baby case
A doctor has been released on $250 000 bail after his arrest in a child endangerment case in Ohio in which an infant was...