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News Update
Medical student in hot water over ‘genocide’ post
A Stellenbosch University medical student and qualified paramedic is being investigated by the university’s Equality Unit after using his X account to allegedly “incite...
Private labs help NHLS through cyber crisis
The chaos caused by last month’s cyber attack has led to the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) having to rely on the private sector...
Primary school pupil tests negative for mpox
The Health Department has confirmed that a grade 1 pupil from Hammanskraal – initially said to have contracted mpox – has tested negative for...
Health costs force TB patients deeper into poverty
More than half of South Africa’s tuberculosis patients are struggling to cope with the costs related to their illnesses, with thousands of them sinking...
No treatment for most people with neurological issues – WHO report
Nearly half of the world’s population suffers from some form of neurological condition ranging from simple migraines to Alzheimer’s, and yet in low-income countries,...
‘Teflon flu’ sending Americans to hospital
Toxic fumes from burning non-stick frying pans sent a record number of Americans to hospital last year, with data showing that more than 250...
New Zealand state care abused 200 000 children, vulnerable adults, inquiry finds
The New Zealand Government has apologised after a public inquiry revealed that around 200 000 children, young people and vulnerable adults had been abused...
Tuskegee ‘syphilis study’ whistle-blower dies
American Peter Buxtun, the whistle-blower who revealed that the US Government allowed hundreds of black men in rural Alabama to go untreated for syphilis...
Eastern Cape doctor killed in crash
Well-known Gqeberha doctor Lungisa Excel Nojoko died in a head-on collision last Sunday morning, when his bakkie collided with a car carrying three people,...
Gauteng Health event targets improved primary healthcare
A two-day summit was recently hosted by the Gauteng Department of Health at which various experts shared ideas on how best to reconfigure service...
WHO flags polio virus in Gaza sewage water samples
Variant type 2 poliovirus (VDPV) has been isolated from six environmental (sewage) samples in the Gaza Strip, according to the WHO.
The strains – collected...
Gauteng Health sued over unspent cancer millions
The Cancer Alliance, represented by SECTION27, has filed a court application against the Gauteng Department of Health (GDoH) after it failed to spend the...
Growing number of SA children hungry and dying – report
The condition of children in South Africa, particularly those under six, is worsening, according to a new report, with nearly 40% of them being...
SAHPRA policy seeks B-BBEE compliance for healthcare licence approvals
Some stakeholders fear that a revised policy proposed by the SA Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA), making it mandatory for applicants to submit broad-based...
Angry doctors demand millions from RAF
More than 70 medical professionals have appealed to Transport Minister Barbara Creecy for help after failure by the Road Accident Fund to pay them...
Life Esidimeni judgment opens door for prosecutions
The National Director of Public Prosecutions will determine whether to prosecute former Gauteng Health MEC Qedani Mahlangu and the department’s head of mental health...
Digital medical records among NDoH targets
The National Department of Health will introduce a phased development of electronic medical records for primary health services, focusing initially on HIV and TB...
Vosloorus hospital under fire for shoddy service
After the suspension several months ago of nurses who allegedly left a sick child in a bed with soiled linen, another parent has complained...
Under-fire Livingstone Hospital now runs out of soap, claim staff
The Eastern Cape Department of Health has been lambasted for not just what Livingstone Hospital staff allege is a critical shortage of syringes and...
WHO prequalifies self-test for Hep C virus
The first hepatitis C virus (HCV) self-test has been pre-qualified by the World Health Organisation (WHO), providing critical support in expanding access to testing...
Fraudster ordered to reimburse aspiring nurses
A woman who swindled thousands of rands from young people who wanted to train as nurses was convicted of fraud by the Nelspruit Specialised...
Ivory Coast first to roll out malaria jab
Monday marked the official roll-out of the new R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine campaign in Africa, with the first vaccination taking place in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire,...
Australia issues warning over compounded colic meds with belladonna
Australia’s health authority says it has received reports of serious adverse events in infants and children who have been given compounded wind and colic...
Netcare opens milk bank at state hospital
In a significant collaboration with the private sector, an on-site milk bank has opened at Johannesburg’s Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital as part...
Children’s Cardiac Foundation of Africa saves its 100th life
The Children’s Cardiac Foundation of Africa (TCCFA), which since 2019 has been offering lifesaving procedures to South African and African children suffering from congenital...
FDA bans harmful beverage additive
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has banned the use of brominated vegetable oil (BVO) in food products as from 2 August, but...
Woman dies at slapping therapy after stopping insulin
A British woman with diabetes who died after stopping her insulin while on a four-day slapping therapy workshop saw the person who ran the...
Hippotherapy helps Italian patients regain mobility
A hospital on the outskirts of Rome, where the hippodrome once hosted chariot races, is using hippotherapy to help neurological patients restore and regain...
NHLS cyber hack continues to cause chaos in hospitals
Doctors and other medical staff have expressed frustration and alarm at the devastating impact the cyber attack on South Africa’s National Health Laboratory Service...
No health qualifications for SA’s nine MECs
The appointments for the country’s nine Health MECs include five new ones while four have been reappointed, reports Spotlight – and with none of...
Eastern Cape hospital crisis worsens as supplies of needles, oxygen, dry up
Tertiary hospitals in the Eastern Cape are facing yet another medical crisis, having run out of syringe needles while battling a dire lack of...
Small hospital groups get further competition rules reprieve
Smaller private hospital groups have been granted another five-year exemption from certain competition regulations by the Department of Trade, Industry & Competition (DTIC) in...
Gauteng Health MEC’s return greeted with mixed reactions
There are multiple challenges ahead – again – for Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko, who has been reappointed as Gauteng’s MEC for Health & Wellness, and who,...
CVD among top three causes of death in SA
Cardiovascular or heart-related diseases have raced to the top three causes of death in the past two decades, say South African life assurers, who...
Discovery sanctioned, again, for misleading advertising
The Advertising Regulatory Board has ordered Discovery to remove or amend advertising material for its severe illness benefit provided by its life insurance business,...
Vital for SA’s HIV+ babies to be tested, as infections rise
The SA National Aids Council (Sanac) has reiterated the importance of at least 95% of children infected with HIV being tested and “linked to...
Kidnapped Gqeberha doctor rescued
A man arrested for allegedly kidnapping a Gqeberha doctor from his surgery earlier this month appeared in the KwaZakhele Magistrate’s Court on Monday, where...
South African workers overly stressed, global poll finds
A recent report by Gallup reveals South African employees are suffering from extremely high stress levels, with 36% of the workforce experiencing excessive stress daily, and...
South African nurses lured to well-paying Canada
Nurses from South Africa – which already has a chronic shortage of them – are among the thousands of local medical professionals being lured...
‘Hate speech’ criminal complaint laid against new Minister
Threats to “switch off foreign nationals’ oxygen machines in hospital” have led to charges of hate speech against SA’s new Sports, Arts & Culture...