HomeNews Update
News Update
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...
Drastic action urged as child obesity set to soar to 220m by 2040
The World Obesity Federation (WOF) has said that without drastic action, half a billion children will be grossly overweight by 2040, calling on governments...
NHI needs a decade to mature, says Adrian Gore
Discovery CEO Adrian Gore says the National Health Insurance (NHI) in its current structure requires a decade or more for it to mature, and that in reality, “we...
Cancer drug pulled from market over safety concerns
The cancer drug tazemetostat (Tazverik) is being voluntarily withdrawn in the United States and all other markets over concerns about secondary cancers, pharmaceutical company...
FDA lane-change on possible autism treatment drug
Nearly six months ago, federal health officials gathered at the White House with President Donald Trump and vowed to “go bold” on autism, outlining...
Iran war freezes WHO’s medical supply hub in Dubai
The World Health Organisation has said the US-Israeli war with Iran has throttled its deliveries of vital medical supplies from the world’s largest humanitarian...
Madagascar reports first mpox death
Madagascar has reported its first death – a three-year-old girl – from mpox since the disease was detected in the country last December, according to...
French hackers steal medical details of 15m patients
In what may be the biggest health data breach in France, the Health Ministry says that administrative details and medical notes on more than...
HPCSA demands millions from former boss
The Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) has demanded its former president, Simon Nemutandani, repay more than R6.1m it says he allegedly siphoned...
Medscheme’s case against Bonitas off urgent roll
Medscheme has removed from the court roll its urgent application against Bonitas, in which it seeks to interdict the appointment of two new service providers,...
Some NHI implementation 'full force ahead' despite pause – Minister
Health Minister Aaron Mostoaledi said the government will continue ‘full force ahead’ to prepare for the implementation of the National Health Insurance (NHI), including...
SA experts reassure women after ‘chemicals in pads’ scare
A team of South African experts has sought to quell public paranoia after a recent wave of knee-jerk reaction to study findings of endocrine-disrupting...
Eastern Cape drug suppliers suspend services over R1bn unpaid bills
The Eastern Cape Department of Health is facing a critical shortage of medicines after racking up unpaid pharmaceutical bills of about R1bn, with 21...
Don't expect jobs from state, MEC tells protesting doctors
Jobless young doctors in the Eastern Cape, some of whom completed their community service in December and who protested outside the Health Department last...
Mothers call for probe into obstetric violence at state hospitals
More than 50 mothers and activists picketed outside the National Department of Health in Pretoria on Monday to demand better maternity healthcare, and calling...