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News Update
Funding for Scottish researchers will help eczema sufferers
A new technology from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, which it anticipates will “revolutionise” eczema diagnosis and treatment, has secured more than £475 000 for clinical research, reports The...
New MPS framework supports safer AI use in healthcare
A new framework, aimed to help healthcare practitioners in South Africa integrate AI safely and responsibly into practice, has been launched by Medical Protection.
The...
SAHPRA backs safety of paracetamol
The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) has confirmed that paracetamol remains a safe and recommended option for treating pain and fever during...
Tembisa tender tycoon now wants R1bn deal from North West
Despite Hangwani Morgan Maumela – the tender don of Tembisa Hospital – being paid R820m in two years through a network of front companies,...
Private healthcare monopolies flagged again in new report
Not much has changed in the private healthcare sector over the past half dozen years, and the absence of regulatory intervention, as well as...
Medical aid premium hikes way above inflation
Medical schemes are to increase their premiums by up to four times the current inflation rate of 3.3% in January, reports News24, with Bonitas...
Lack of security puts Johannesburg clinic staff at risk
Nurses at Jeppestown Clinic in downtown Johannesburg have pleaded for more security, saying one unarmed security guard is inadequate at a facility where staff...
Power shutdown causes chaos at Steve Biko Hospital
Frustrated and angry doctors said an electricity maintenance shutdown at Pretoria’s Steve Biko Academic Hospital at the weekend came without any warning, resulting in...
One ambulance for 50 000 people
Angry and anxious residents say that only one ambulance is working in the Sundays River Valley Municipality in the Eastern Cape, with the Health...
Private sector to bail out NHLS in cancer test backlog
In a bid to slash its overwhelming backlog of cancer tests at its Johannesburg facility, the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) – which receives...
Free healthcare for migrants 'a mistake', says Minister
South Africa’s resources are limited and the government had made a mistake in 1996 in granting services to everyone in the country – whether...
Plan for ‘special Bill’ to plug health funding gap
National Treasury says it is planning to approach Parliament for a Special Appropriation Bill to bridge the funding shortfall in Health and the gap...
SA launches WHO-backed plan to combat rise of counterfeit meds
A national action plan to fight the alarming rise of fake and sub-standard medicines in South Africa will be implemented from next year, aimed...
Big hearts, willing givers, tackle Western Cape cataract backlog
A massive backlog of nearly 500 cataract surgeries in the Western Cape has been wiped out, thanks to the efforts of Gift of the...
WHO warns pollution killing thousands of South Africans annually
The WHO has urged South Africa to adopt stronger air quality standards aligned to global guidelines and accelerate a just energy transition through clean...
Indian court orders handwriting lessons for doctors
Jokes around the notoriously bad handwriting of doctors are common worldwide, but the latest order emphasising the importance of clear handwriting was in India,...
Anti-doping agency bans non-diagnostic carbon monoxide in sport
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) will add the non-diagnostic use of carbon monoxide to its prohibited methods list from next year, reports Reuters.
The gas...
Vaccines averted 17m deaths in five years, WHO reports
Vaccinations saved the lives of around 17m people between 2021 and 2024, but according to the WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on...
CDC flags surge of infections from drug-resistant bacteria
Health officials in the United States have warned that infections from dangerous bacteria, which are resistant to some of the strongest antibiotics available, have...
US ‘pregnancy crimes’ escalate with hundreds of women charged
More than 400 American women have been charged with pregnancy-related crimes in the first two years since the US Supreme Court’s controversial overturning of...
KZN doctor, nurses nabbed in drunk driving blitz
A doctor and three nurses were among 66 motorists arrested on the weekend in Port Shepstone, KwaZulu-Natal, for drunk driving, drawing condemnation from Transport...
Health officials central to R2bn Tembisa looting spree
Government officials, from high ranking managers to junior officials, all acted together to fleece a staggering R2bn from the Tembisa Hospital in a web...
Murder charge against Operation Dudula after baby’s death
The EFF in Gauteng has opened a criminal case against the Operation Dudula movement, accusing it of inciting violence and unlawfully targeting foreign nationals in...
New US-first health strategy sidelines South Africa
Future health aid to South Africa from the US may be in jeopardy after the Trump administration released a new “America first” global health...
Suspension for hospital cleaner ‘bust’ with bag of placentas
The Mpumalanga Department of Health has suspended a 39-year-old cleaner from Lydenburg Hospital after she was arrested for being found in possession of human placentas,...
Keloid weighing 3.5kg removed for Limpopo man
Surgeons have successfully removed a massive and disfiguring keloid growth from the neck of a Limpopo man who has been living with the pain...
US panel stops advising Covid jab for adults
There was much flip-flopping of decisions and reversals of conclusions last week during two days of meetings of the US vaccine advisory committee, which...
Gates urges more government action, pledges R15bn
The Gates Foundation will give $912m to the Global Fund to Fight Aids, TB and Malaria, philanthropist Bill Gates announced this week as he urged...
Kennedy clamps down on organ harvesting groups after dodgy cases
Recently publicised cases in the United States relating to shady organ procurement processes – and cases of still-living, neurologically active patients almost having their...
Time for SA to stand on its own, Aids experts agree
Healthcare and Aids activists agreed that it was time to face up to the reality of the US funding cuts – and its enormous...
Call for 'war room' action as Eastern Cape children die of hunger
The deaths of 70 Eastern Cape children in the first six months of this year have been linked to severe acute malnutrition, which the...
Millions spent on guarding abandoned hospital
A derelict and vandalised hospital that has stood empty for nearly 30 years is costing the Gauteng Department of Health R750 000 per annum...
Concerns grow over lenacapavir price transparency
South Africa may be able to start rolling out the twice-yearly anti-HIV drug lenacapavir (LEN) in January 2026 – three months earlier than planned...
Calls for urgent health reform at inaugural Ombud conference
Lives are being lost, and more placed at risk as legal bickering and challenges continue around the NHI Act, but, says Netcare Group CEO...
Probe after fire engulfs SA’s largest medical waste plant
Biohazard concerns and questions about nearby communities’ health and safety have been raised after a massive blaze that gutted South Africa’s largest medical waste...
Council warns against fraudulent nurse certification
The South African Nursing Council (SANC) has issued an urgent warning to employers, nurses and the public regarding fake SANC Registration Certificates, Annual Practising...
Boats, Bentleys and buildings seized in Tembisa probe asset haul
The probe into the web of corruption linked to Tembisa Hospital, triggered by whistleblower Babita Deokaran, is showing results, with the National Prosecuting Authority...
More children obese than underweight – Unicef
Unicef has warned governments to protect children’s diets from unhealthy ingredients and to stop the ultra-processed food industry from interfering in policy decisions –...
Court rejects Mkhize's delay bid in Digital Vibes case
Former Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize was unsuccessful last week in his bid to delay the Special Investigating Unit’s (SIU) case pending his High...
Suspended nurse claims victimisation for reporting abuse
A Gauteng nurse, who previously accused Clicks Pharmacy’s management of ill-treating her for reporting sexual harassment, has been suspended for breaching company ethics by...