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KZN Health MEC demands probe into corruption claims
KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Health Nomagugu Simelane has called for Premier Thami Ntuli to investigate the allegations of corruption levelled against her, making the remarks...
Companies linked to Mashatile's sons scoop R49m Gauteng hospital tender
Two companies with links to Deputy President Paul Mashatile’s sons were paid R36.4m – and are owed a further R12.6m – for a Gauteng...
Call for action as SA loses 6 000 doctors and nurses annually
Experts warn that urgent intervention is needed to deal with the staffing crisis in the healthcare sector, which has seen almost 6 000 doctors...
Nurses allegedly ignored patient who miscarried at KZN hospital
Hospital staff allegedly left a young patient ignored and unattended during and after her miscarriage, with the woman being forced to sit with the...
Africa braces for spike in mosquito-borne diseases after US cuts
The withdrawal of US funding could see a worsening of mosquito-borne diseases and a reversal in the progress made in beating the spread, with...
Study flags high colistin-resistant Klebsiella rates in Africa
Researchers have expressed alarm over Africa’s high levels of resistance to a last-resort antibiotic in an already multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacterial pathogen, according to their...
Anti-foreigner group ups ante at healthcare facilities
Despite warnings against vigilantism, the controversial March on March movement is extending its campaign to several other hospitals and clinics in KwaZulu-Natal, and elsewhere,...
Penicillin jab recall jeopardises syphilis gains in the United States
Pfizer has warned of a possible shortage of Bicillin L-A, a long-acting injection of the antibiotic penicillin used for treating syphilis during pregnancy, after...
Dire handwashing habits of hospital loo users – UK-Danish study
British researchers – in a 19-week study in partnership with Bispebjerg Hospital in Denmark – have found that almost one of every two people...
SA study highlights need to monitor IV antibiotic use in hospitals
The findings of a study analysing intravenous (IV) antibiotic usage in a private mining hospital in North West Province have emphasised the need for...
NDoH considers vaccine to protect infants from RSV
A respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine to protect infants from severe illness is available in the private sector although not yet in public clinics,...
Childhood obesity tied to early, serious health issues – SA study
A study by the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) and Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital (IALCH) has linked childhood obesity to an escalation...
Task team probes staff crisis at Livingstone Hospital
A task team from the Eastern Cape Department of Health is to present a report shortly on the staffing haemorrhage from Gqeberha’s Livingstone Hospital and...
WHO punts 50% global tax hike for alcohol, tobacco and sugary drinks
The World Health Organisation wants health taxes hiked worldwide to slow down the epidemic of non-communicable diseases, pointing to a recent report suggesting that...
Low screening, weak referrals, drive SA’s high cervical cancer rates
Compared with other countries, South Africa has a much higher global cervical cancer rate – between 22.8 and 27 per 100 000 women, with...
Mpox can leave lasting brain damage – Swiss study
Research by University of Bern scientists suggests that the mpox virus can also infect the human brain and damage brain cells, findings they say...
Jobless Cuban-trained doctors desperate for posts
Two dozen young doctors are sitting at home unemployed after completing their training – funded by the Free State government through the Nelson Mandela-Fidel Castro...
Gauteng Health denies ‘bodies piling up’ at hospital morgue
There are no unclaimed bodies piling up at Helen Joseph Hospital, Gauteng Health has said after claims of multiple unclaimed bodies left in limbo...
Contaminated water detected in most SA school storage tanks
A national water testing campaign has found that most water storage tanks at South African schools are contaminated, and unfit for human consumption, while...
Gavi scrambles to replace billions lost with withdrawal of US support
The Gates Foundation has renewed its commitment to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, after US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. accused it last week...
Cancer ‘the new HIV in South Africa’
Cancer cases in South Africa are rising, with projections that numbers could reach 120 000 within the next five years – double what was...
Health experts urge government to prioritise antimicrobial resistance
An open letter from more than 70 infectious disease and public health experts is urging the Department of Health and Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi...
No money for fire compliance at Charlotte Maxeke – Gauteng Health
Repairs to Charlotte Maxeke Hospital after the devastating fire in April 2021 are progressing well – albeit slowly – but the Gauteng Department of...
Gauteng Health on vaccine drive as measles spreads
Measles cases are escalating in Gauteng, with the Health Department now launching an aggressive vaccination campaign in schools and at taxi ranks, in efforts...
New research unit at Steve Biko Hospital impresses President
The newly-established Nuclear Medicine Research Infrastructure (NuMeRI) facility at Steve Biko Hospital in Pretoria has impressed President Cyril Ramaphosa, who visited the facility this...
Regulator wrongly approved hundreds of nurses to work in UK
A damning report reveals that more than 350 fraudulent or under-qualified applications from centres in India, Nigeria and Pakistan were mistakenly approved by Britain’s...
Free State clinics shut down for safety reasons
Two clinics which closed down in the Free State in April were inspected by Health MEC Monyatso Mahlatsi this week where she assessed the...
Why 100% fruit juice needs a sugar warning label
Under South Africa’s latest proposed food labelling regulations, 100% fruit juices won’t have to show a high sugar warning because their sugars are “naturally...
Appeal for cost of generic long-acting HIV drug to be lowered
Health activists have urged pharmaceutical manufacturer Gilead Sciences to lower the price of its twice-yearly, long-acting injection for HIV prevention, saying the jab –...
Frustrated doctors slam union for lack of action
A collective of 126 frontline South African doctors – from more than 40 public and private healthcare institutions countrywide – has lambasted the SA...
Costly ‘sick leave’ endemic among government staff
Sick leave costs in the public service skyrocketed between 2020 and 2023 – from R8bn in 2020 to R11.5bn in 2022 before dipping slightly...
KZN patient registration system struggles to get going
Implementation of the Health Patient Registration System (HPRS) in KwaZulu-Natal is being hamstrung by a budget shortfall and issues relating to internet connectivity, according...
Gauteng hospital patients without hot water
Patients at nine hospitals in Gauteng have been without hot water for six weeks, thanks to leaking and broken boilers, compressors and tanks, according...
Thousands of Gauteng patients wait for MRI scans
A backlog of 3 563 patients awaiting MRI scans at Gauteng Hospitals is cause for concern, says the DA, with shadow health Minister Jack...
Government applauded for HIV combat efforts amid US cuts
South Africa’s efforts to maintain its fight against HIV-Aids, despite the massive funding cuts from the United States, have been acknowledged by United Nations...
WHO extends mpox emergency after African surge
After a World Health Organisation (WHO) emergency committee meeting last week on the mpox upsurge in Africa, the group’s director-general has accepted the recommendation...
Global recognition for SA public health expert Helen Rees
South Africa’s Professor Helen Rees was one of six global public health champions celebrated at the recent World Health Assembly, receiving the Dr Lee Jong-wook...
Rethinking how we look at obesity in South Africa
Health workers have long relied on body mass index (BMI) to measure whether people are within a healthy weight range, but leading researchers have...
Cape Town sees rise in foodborne illnesses
An escalation in foodborne illnesses – since July 2022 – has seen Cape Town’s microbiological lab testing nearly 5 000 food samples, just over...
Electronic death registration in SA a win for everyone
South Africa’s paper-based death registration process is cumbersome and fraught with problems, and moving to an electronic system will not only reduce the administrative...