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News Update
Sizwe Hosmed to launch fraud probe
The Sizwe Hosmed Medical Scheme – placed under statutory management by the Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) last week because of its shaky finances – is...
Regulator appeals for ‘reasonable’ medical aid hike
SA’s medical schemes regulator has appealed to the industry to limit 2025 contribution increases to the SA Reserve Bank (SARB’s) inflation forecast of 4.4% plus...
Eastern Cape Hospital tensions continue to rise
Services at the once well-functioning Zithulele Hospital are at a crossroads following more protests relating to unhappiness over the appointment two years ago of...
Mpox cases climb to 24 in SA as incidents rise in Africa
The number of mpox cases in South Africa has risen to 24, with another two cases being confirmed at the weekend – in Gauteng...
Gauteng Health fails to spend budget millions – again
Underspending of budgets has critical implications, and Gauteng Health’s failure to spend more than R1.1bn of its 23/24 budget, when there are so many...
UK approves ‘take-home’ blood cancer drug
Blood cancer patients in England are to be offered the first ever ‘take-at-home’ tablet to be approved for treatment, and recommended by the National...
EMA rejects US-approved Alzheimer’s drug
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has rejected a licence for the Alzheimer’s treatment lecanemab (Leqembi), saying the benefits did not counterbalance the risk of serious side...
NHLS back on track after cyber breach
The National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) has rebuilt and restored parts of its critical IT infrastructure and systems that were disabled by the recent...
Parolee nabbed for faeces attack on clinic worker
The irate patient accused of emptying a bucket of faeces over an employee at Thabong Clinic in the Free State has been arrested for...
UK boy first kidney patient to have robot surgery
A seven-year-old boy has become the first patient in Britain to undergo robotic surgery for a kidney condition that if left untreated, can lead to loss of kidney...
Nurse suicides linked to probes by ‘toxic’ UK nursing council
The UK nursing regulator’s chair says he will not step down after a damning report revealed that at least 16 nurses have committed suicide...
Australia starts first peanut allergy programme for babies
Babies who have a peanut allergy are now being offered free and potentially life-changing treatment at hospitals across Australia in a world-first programme aimed...
Trust in US doctors plunged in pandemic – and still low, finds survey
A recent survey of more than 400 000 American adults found that during the pandemic, trust in physicians and hospitals decreased sharply, and higher...
Almost 120 000 girls give birth in one year
The number of young girls and teenagers having babies remains constant in South Africa, with more than 2 700 girls aged 10 to 14...
Corpse shortage due to rise in Scottish medical students
Scotland is experiencing a shortage of cadavers because of an increase in the number of students studying medicine, with surgical colleges even having to...
iTOO enters new partnership with indemnity specialist EthiQal
iTOO Special Risks, a speciality risk underwriter, and EthiQal, a medical professional indemnity provider for specialist doctors, have announced an exciting strategic partnership.
This collaboration,...
Prosthetist in court on RAF fraud charges
A Gqeberha prosthetist was arrested and appeared in court last week for allegedly defrauding the Road Accident Fund (RAF) to the tune of R290...
Sizwe Hosmed in financial trouble as other schemes hike prices
Three years after its debut, Sizwe Hosmed Medical Scheme has been placed under statutory management by the Council for Medical Schemes (CMS), due to...
UK approves weight-loss jab for heart attacks, stroke
British health officials have approved weight-loss drug Wegovy to be used to prevent heart attacks and strokes in overweight people, the first such medication...
FDA green light for colon cancer blood test
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved a blood test to be used for colorectal cancer screening among average-risk adults 45 and older...
Corruption allegations linked to North West hospital tender
A North West businessman’s lawsuit against the provincial Department of Health has exposed claims of corruption in the construction of a multimillion-rand hospital, with...
‘Whistle-blower’ seeks Hawks protection at hearing
A senior health official who blew the whistle on alleged corruption – implicating DG Sandile Buthelezi in a bribe of R500 000 – requested...
Free State patient pours faeces over clinic worker
An employee at Thabong Clinic in the Free State is receiving counselling after being targeted with a bucket of faeces by a disgruntled patient,...
US to buy African-made ARVs for Pepfar programme
America is throwing its weight behind African production of antiretrovirals, with the US President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief programme (Pepfar) committing to buying...
FDA issues dosage warning for semaglutide compound
The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an alert about overdoses, some requiring hospital admission, after patient and physician confusion around compounded...
SA staff unpaid as US ‘healthcare firm’ probed by FBI
Former South African employees of what was supposedly a healthcare company, which is being investigated for fraud in the US, say they are still...
WHO upgrades carcinogenicity of talc
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), part of the World Health Organisation, has reclassified talc from “possibly” to “probably” carcinogenic, and reclassified...
Protests at Northdale Hospital
Protests outside Pietermaritzburg’s Northdale Hospital yesterday saw security guards locking the gates and prohibiting people from either entering or leaving the premises, reports The...
Plant-based diets may benefit type 2 diabetes
In 2021, it was estimated that more than 4m South African adults had diabetes. In lifestyle diseases, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is arguably...
Hard-hitting court ruling against 'certificate of need' plan
The High Court has delivered a damning ruling against the controversial Certificate of Need (CON) scheme for doctors and private hospitals, and has struck...
SAHPRA clarifies B-BBEE policy
The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) has rejected what it calls a misinformation campaign related to its draft B-BBEE Policy, which it...
Healthcare systems hit hard by global Microsoft outage
Doctors, nurses and hospital administrators around the globe were going into panic mode last week as they raced to manage the consequences of the...
Call to resolve acting CEO crisis in KZN hospitals
KZN provincial hospitals are having a leadership crisis and intervention is urgently needed, according to the Public Servants Association of South Africa (PSA), which...
Business group upbeat after Ramaphosa’s NHI comments
Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) is encouraged by President Cyril Ramaphosa’s recent promises to “resolve differences” and “bring stakeholders together” on the thorny NHI...
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...