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News Update
Australian state psychiatrists resign en masse
Years of unresolved staff shortages and under-resourcing drove more than half of all psychiatrists working in public mental health in Australia’s largest state to...
EU plan to ban ‘forever chemicals’ in consumer products
The European Commission wants to ban PFAS – “forever chemicals” – in consumer products, with exemptions for essential industrial uses, although the agency admits...
Coca-Cola drinks recall in Europe amid safety fears
A large recall has been issued across Europe for Coca-Cola, Sprite, Fanta and other soft drinks because of safety fears, after the discovery of...
Mthatha doctor’s arrest linked to tax evasion
An Mthatha doctor is to appear in court on 6 February after his arrest this week in connection with allegations of fraud and contravention of...
Watchdog alert over FDA’s fast-track drug approvals
A new report from the US Department of Health & Human Services’ Office of Inspector General has raised concerns about the FDA’s accelerated approval...
KZN Health to insource vital services
KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thami Ntuli has announced that various services – like security, cleaning, kitchen work and gardening – will now be insourced at all...
US bans Red No 3 dye, flags cancer links
The US has banned the use of a synthetic red food dye that gives some sweets, cakes and certain oral medications a cherry-red colour,...
Damning report on collapsing NHS conditions
A devastating 460-page dossier compiled by frontline nurses has laid bare the shocking reality of conditions in Britain’s NHS hospitals, where dead patients lie...
Bloodletting advised for islanders to reduce PFAS levels
‘Bloodletting’ has been recommended to residents of Jersey, one of the Channel Islands, as a way to reduce high concentrations of “forever chemicals” in...
WHO launches $1.5bn plea for global health crises
An urgent appeal has been issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO), which needs funds to support global lifesaving interventions to tackle unparalleled health...
Sacked UK doctor with PTSD awarded £100 000 compensation
A doctor at Lister Hospital, just outside London, who had PTSD and was unfairly dismissed, has been awarded more than £100 000 in compensation,...
Tanzania denies Marburg outbreak after WHO alert
A World Health Organisation (WHO) report of a suspected new outbreak of the Ebola-like Marburg virus in Tanzania were false alarms, according to officials...
SA women allege Pfizer knew about contraceptive tumour risk
Four South African women who used Pfizer’s Depo-Provera for decades blame the injectable contraceptive for causing them to develop brain tumours, but the company...
Man in court for rape of clinic nurses
Limpopo Health MEC authorities have called for an urgent investigation after a man appeared in the Polokwane Magistrate’s Court this week in connection with...
Clicks expands pharmacies after court ruling
Clicks has opened 11 new pharmacies since November, the goal being 40 to 50 new locations during this financial year, the group said this...
Premier issues order to hire doctors
Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane has ordered his Health Department to start recruiting jobless doctors within six weeks, after around 170 unemployed doctors delivered...
FDA adds Guillain-Barre alert for RSV jabs
The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a safety alert linking possible Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) with two respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccines...
Night shift nurses raped at Limpopo clinic
Limpopo police have launched a massive manhunt after two nurses, on night duty at a local clinic, were abducted at gunpoint and then raped...
Union medical aid axes Melomed hospitals
The SA Municipal Workers Union Medical Scheme (Samwumed) has dumped the Melomed Group from its list of approved hospitals, causing an outcry among members...
Karl Bremer Hospital guard discharged after 'dragging' patient
An internal probe by Karl Bremer Hospital into the circumstances surrounding a guard dragging a patient across the floor found that the security officer’s...
North West Health seeks help with teen pregnancies
The North West provincial Health & Social Development Portfolio Committee has called for urgent action in response to teen pregnancies, and after recent revelations...
UK may reclassify ketamine as illegal use soars
Britain is considering reclassifying the anaesthetic ketamine as a class A drug as illegal use skyrockets to record levels, officials say.
Ketamine, taken by billionaire...
Pharmacy middlemen charged with inflating drug prices
America’s three largest pharmacy benefit managers have been accused by the Federal Trade Commission of significantly marking up the prices of certain medicines, including...
Marketers of CBD-coated tampons warned by FDA
The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has slammed a UK company for “adulterating” its products, sending it a warning letter for selling tampons...
Lilly hopes for 2026 approval for new weight loss pill
Eli Lilly expects its experimental weight loss pill – orforglipron – to be approved as early next year, and plans to release key late-stage...
Life Healthcare sells diagnostics business
SA's second-biggest private hospital group, Life Healthcare, has reached a $350m upfront payment deal for its interest in diagnostics business Life Molecular Imaging (LMI).
The...
Sierra Leone declares mpox emergency
A state of emergency was declared in Sierra Leone on Monday after the country reported its second case of mpox in less than four...
Ukraine bans organ harvesting from war casualties
The Ukrainian Parliament passed legislation last week prohibiting organ harvesting from military and civilian casualties of Russia’s invasion, the measure receiving broad support from...
Risks and benefits of human genome editing unpacked in Australian study
Scientists know about tens of thousands of DNA variants that are associated with human diseases. On their own, the vast majority of these variants...
Virus outbreak in China no mystery and not new, say SA experts
There is no need to panic over the respiratory virus outbreak in China that has stirred public concerns, according to South African experts and...
Tembisa Hospital tender tycoon landed R360m SAPS contract
Investigations have revealed that security boss and Tembisa Hospital tenderpreneur Vusimuzi Matlala, whose home and office were raided by police last week apparently in...
Blockbuster diabetic drug now in SA
Aspen Pharmacare has announced the local availability of Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide, marketed globally as Mounjaro.
Mounjaro, the once-weekly glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide receptor and glucagon-like peptide-1...
Discovery mulls SCA appeal after RAF medical costs ruling
The Gauteng High Court dismissal with costs last month of Discovery Health’s application for an order declaring the Road Accident Fund (RAF) to be...
Security staff suspended for dragging patient along hospital floor
The Western Cape Health Department has suspended two security guards who were filmed dragging a patient out of Karl Bremer Hospital, with Chief Operating...
State medical aid premiums now unaffordable, claims PSA
The Public Servants Association (PSA) has had a deluge of calls from anxious union members after the Government Employees Medical Scheme (GEMS) membership subscription...
Health Minister denies R300m spent on Cuban studies
Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said funding students to study under the Nelson Mandela Fidel Castro Programme had cost his department only around R23m annually,...
State contracts without adequate funds unlawful, rules court
The Supreme Court of Appeal has slammed the continuing practice of government departments entering into contracts that exceed the amount appropriated for a particular...
Ramathuba threatens to sack staff over patient queues
Long waiting times at a Limpopo hospital saw Premier Dr Phophi Ramathuba warning staff that failure to assist patients promptly would result in their...
First bird flu death reported in the US
A Louisiana man who had the first severe human case of bird flu in the US has died, local health officials reported this week...
Surgeon-General wants cancer warnings for alcohol
The US' top doctor has called for risk warnings on alcohol – similar to the labels on cigarettes – after new research flagging links...