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Public Protector to probe health, safety hazards at Phoenix mortuary
The Public Protector is launching an “own-initiative systemic investigation” into the Phoenix mortuary in Durban, where, as reported in MedicalBrief last week, there had been...
Psychiatric patients go hungry and barefoot at Eastern Cape hospital
Komani Psychiatric Hospital in the Eastern Cape has been accused of gross mistreatment of patients – that they go to bed hungry and share...
Western Cape legislature to set up TB caucus by month-end
More than 12 months after a proposal by the South African TB Caucus (SATBC), the provincial legislature has agreed to set up a tuberculosis...
Civil society report on medication collections at North West health facilities
Data collected by civil organisation Ritshidze, in the second edition of the North West State of Health report, said there were still problems in...
Medical interns from African countries struggle after removal from SA critical skills list
Frustrated and fed-up foreign graduates who studied medicine in SA and now can’t get placed for internships after Home Affairs’ removal of doctors from...
Early deaths of epileptics rising: SA Neurological Association
The risk of premature death in people with epilepsy is up to three times higher than in the general population, with these sudden, unexpected...
WHO, Unicef flag worst decline in childhood immunisations in 30 years
Global childhood vaccination rates experienced the largest decline in about three decades amid COVID-19 disruptions, with 25m children missing out on at least one...
SAHPRA queries Sisulu’s claim of Russian cancer medication for Duarte
A comment from Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu’s office about her organising cancer medicine from Russia for the late ANC stalwart Jessie Duarte has drawn...
MPs to visit overcrowded, understaffed Khayelitsha hospital
After yet another glimpse into conditions at a government hospital via social media posts, Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Health has been galvanised into considering...
Bodies overflow, piled on floors, at KZN mortuary
Blocked stinking drains, leaks, lack of PPE equipment, and most importantly, a lack of space, have Phoenix mortuary staff stressed and overworked.
At least 20...
World-first malaria vaccine to be rolled out in African countries
In a major advance in the fight against one of Africa’s most severe health threats, preparations are under way for a mass roll-out of...
COVID sub-variant spreads and new symptoms emerge
An immunologist has warned the new strain of COVID-19, Omicron BA.5, could be causing different symptoms – including one that emerges during the night.
The...
NICD to stop daily COVID reports
Daily reporting of Covid-19 data by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), which has been in place since March 2020, will end tomorrow,...
Health Minister Phaahla tests positive for COVID
The Department of Health confirmed last week that Minister Joe Phaahla has tested positive for COVID-19.
EWN reports that he had been tested after showing...
Enyobeni tragedy: Methanol detected in bodies of teen victims
Was methanol the lethal ingredient in the free “alcohol” which enticed teenagers to the Enyobeni Tavern on that tragic night? Methanol, a toxic alcohol...
Government's R11bn ARV tender favours non-SA companies, says local body
A local pharmaceutical industry body is questioning why almost half of the main medicines in a three-year R11bn antiretroviral (ARV) tender will be bought...
BA.2.75 subvariant not yet in SA, but mask mandate still an option: Phaahla
A World Health Organisation (WHO) official has confirmed that there is no new COVID-19 variant called ‘Centaurus’, but rather that social media has unofficially...
Global recruitment vital to fill 52% UK doctor vacancies, say physicians
Foreign medics should be given a greater role in plugging Britain’s senior doctor shortage, the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) has warned, as more...
Gauteng Health considers legal action over sit-in protest
The Gauteng Health Department is considering legal action as protesters stage a sit-in at their Tshwane offices for a third consecutive week, News24 reports.
About...
Mitchells Plain Hospital's alleged negligence blamed for relatives’ deaths
Mitchells Plain District Hospital in Cape Town has come under fire from patients’ families, being accused of inhumane treatment and behaviour, and a lack...
First cases of deadly Marburg virus reported in Ghana
Two cases of the deadly Marburg virus have been identified in Ghana, the first time the disease has been found in the West African...
Bara coughs up R3.4m for generator diesel during 2022 load shedding
Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital has spent R3.4m on diesel for its emergency generators this past year, said provincial Health MEC Nomathemba Mokgethi.
In a written...
Unsafe, ageing Limpopo hospital sends laundry 30km away for washing
While the national Health Department has promised a new hospital will be built by 2028, locals have to contend with dilapidated wards, collapsing roofs,...
Cuban medical school suspends SA students for ‘kidnapping’
An Eastern Cape medical student who was studying in Cuba has pleaded with authorities to allow him to complete his degree after being kicked...
Pharma companies to share data on anti-microbial resistance
Pharmaceutical companies have pledged to share surveillance data on new anti-microbial medicines, such as antibiotics, in a new register launched to combat anti-microbial resistance...
Teens arrested for murder of UFS medical student
Two teenagers, aged 17 and 18, have been arrested in connnection with the murder of medical student Wiseman Mthunzi Zwane, who was stabbed multiple...
R1,2bn shortfall in Gauteng hospital maintenance budget, HRC hears
A senior government officials says budget constraints have led to delays in paying service providers to maintain health facilities in Gauteng.
Bawinile Malope, from them...
Limpopo health chief resigns amid multimillion rand PPE tender probe
Thokozani Mhlongo, head of the Limpopo Health Department, resigned last weekend while she and other officials were being investigated by the Special Investigating Unit...
Arson suspicion in second Charlotte Maxeke fire reignites concerns about its future
The second fire at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital (CMJAH) on 5 July has led to renewed questions about progress for the repair and...
Post Office unfit to distribute chronic meds – Pharmacy Association
There has been a surge of protest from pharmacists over the national Health Department’s decision to entrust the South African Post Office with the...
Union plans disruptive protest against Lenmed heart hospital
Routes leading to Durban’s Lenmed eThekwini Hospital and Heart Centre are expected to be the scene of protests on 18 July when the Health...
Continue wearing masks, government warns those at risk
South Africans with comorbidities and those who are ill are encouraged to continue wearing masks, advises the government, warning against complacency since the recent...
Moderna/Pfizer update two vaccines against newer variants
Moderna and rival Pfizer are developing updated vaccines to target the fast-spreading Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5, which have gained a foothold in the...
Tshwane measles outbreak over – NICD
The measles outbreak in Tshwane is over, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said on Tuesday, as more than 42 days, or two...
Prioritise cataract surgeries, urge SA experts as backlogs build up
While public health facilities faced backlogs of cataract patients even before the onset of COVID-19, these have since worsened, and doctors say cataract surgery...
Fears for patients’ safety as ‘broken’ NHS mired in staffing crisis
Hospital doctors are being sent home from daytime shifts and told to come back and work overnight in the latest stark illustration of Britain’s...
8,000 jobs on the block with NHS merger
Some 40% of jobs will be lost later this year in the merger between NHS England, Health Education England and NHS Digital.
The jobs being...
Johann Rupert group in Mediclinic takeover bid
A consortium backed by South African billionaire Johann Rupert is preparing a higher takeover bid for Mediclinic, the country’s largest hospital operator, reports News24.
Last...
Prioritise patients, not politicians – DA
Why are ministers exempt from load shedding and hospitals are not? write the DA’s Ghaleb Cachalia and Michele Clarke in Politicsweb.
The DA finds it...
Gauteng Cabinet to meet over ‘I am’ letter about dire hospital conditions
Gauteng Premier David Makhura has said the Cabinet’s Provincial Executive Committee was having a meeting this week to discuss a report on the state...