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SA experts reassure women after ‘chemicals in pads’ scare
A team of South African experts has sought to quell public paranoia after a recent wave of knee-jerk reaction to study findings of endocrine-disrupting...
Eastern Cape drug suppliers suspend services over R1bn unpaid bills
The Eastern Cape Department of Health is facing a critical shortage of medicines after racking up unpaid pharmaceutical bills of about R1bn, with 21...
Mothers call for probe into obstetric violence at state hospitals
More than 50 mothers and activists picketed outside the National Department of Health in Pretoria on Monday to demand better maternity healthcare, and calling...
New oncology clinic opens in Springbok
Cancer patients in remote Northern Cape towns will no longer have to endure gruelling journeys of up to 1 200km for life-saving treatment, thanks...
Suspected paediatric outbreak cleared in Aberdeen
The Eastern Cape Department of Health says the recent suspected outbreak affecting children in Aberdeen in the Sarah Baartman District has stabilised, and is...
Kenyan health, hospital officials charged in multimillion-dollar fraud probe
Charges against a number of directors from various Kenyan hospitals as well as several government officials all linked to Social Health Authority (SHA) fraud –...
Spain bans energy drink sales to under-16s
The Spanish Government is moving ahead with a ban on energy drinks for minors, based on data warning of the risks of caffeine in...
Western Cape Health says meningitis under control
There is no meningococcal meningitis outbreak in the Western Cape, the provincial Department of Health and Wellness said last week, noting that only 11...
Kruger floods spark Limpopo malaria fears
Communities ravaged by the recent floods throughout Limpopo are facing another problem, with a noticeable increase in mosquitoes raising fears about getting sick, write Israel Nkuna...
When will SA take the prevention of chronic HBV infection seriously?
South Africa bears a significant burden of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, and a notable prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) among pregnant...
ChatGPT Health fails to ID emergencies – US study
Although ChatGPT Health performed well in textbook emergencies like stroke or severe allergic reactions, it regularly misses the need for medical urgent care and...
SCA dismisses RAF appeal over hospital claims rulings
The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has dismissed with costs an application by the Road Accident Fund (RAF) to appeal a judgment, slamming the...
SAHRC orders Northern Cape Health to fix mental hospital mess
The SA Human Rights Commission has given the Northern Cape Department of Health 60 days to sort out the appalling state of the Northern...
Cipla joins legal challenge as Aids drug tender row escalates
The Department of Health’s controversial Aids drug tender is under fresh attack, after Cipla filed an application in the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) last...
SA sanitary pad suppliers probed after study finds harmful chemicals
The National Consumer Commission (NCC) has opened an investigation into nine sanitary pad and panty liner suppliers, after a University of the Free State...
MEC and paramedics clash looms in defamation case
A legal showdown between KwaZulu-Natal Transport and Human Settlements MEC Siboniso Duma and ALS Paramedics is expected to take place in the KZN High...
Lifestyles fuel rising hypertension among Gauteng young adults
Gauteng Health has warned of a rise in high blood pressure diagnoses among the province’s young adults, amid deteriorating lifestyle habits, reports The Citizen.
Rising...
US proposes expensive alternative to WHO
America’s Health & Human Services department has proposed spending $2bn a year to re-create systems the country previously accessed through the WHO at a...
GEMS given seven days to respond to union demands on steep hikes
The Government Employees Medical Scheme (GEMS) has seven days to respond to the Public Servants Association’s demands to withdraw the 9.8% contribution hike for...
Another negligence claim – R6.4m – pummels Eastern Cape Health
In the second financial blow this month to the Eastern Cape Department of Health, the provincial Health MEC has been ordered to pay more...
Mother wants answers for 14-year-old’s death after childbirth complications
A heartbroken mother from Grassy Park, on the Cape Flats, is demanding answers for her 14-year-old daughter’s death, just weeks after giving birth, allegedly...
Controversial UK puberty blockers trial on hold after concerns
A clinical trial assessing the risks and benefits of puberty-blocking drugs in children questioning their gender has been paused after safety concerns were raised...
Chinese MRI machines for Gauteng slammed by doctors
Doctors at Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital in Johannesburg have questioned a Gauteng Health Department decision to override their choice of MRI scanners and opting...
Western Cape won’t hire CHWs on a permanent basis
The Western Cape Department of Health & Wellness has no plans to comply with a 2025 Labour Court ruling that community health workers (CHWs)...
Surgeries cancelled as Grey’s Hospital struggles without air-conditioning
The recent heatwave has exacerbated an ongoing crisis at Grey’s Hospital in Pietermaritzburg, where the central air-conditioning system remained non-functional, leaving operating theatres and...
Planned protests after trade unions reject GEMS hikes
The proposed hefty contribution increase announced by the Government Employees Medical Scheme (GEMS) has been roundly rejected by unions in the Public Service Co-ordinating...
WHO slams US-funded baby vaccine trial in Guinea-Bissau
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has condemned the proposed and now-suspended randomised controlled trial planning to withhold the hepatitis B birth dose vaccine from...
Paediatric illness outbreak in Eastern Cape
A cluster of paediatric illness cases in Aberdeen, in the Sarah Baartman District of the Eastern Cape, has prompted a warning from the provincial...
Hospital denies negligence after baby allegedly falls from incubator
Tygerberg Hospital says an internal review has found no evidence of negligence after parents claimed one of their newborn twins fell from an incubator...
Australian experts dissect proposed new autism category
A group of international experts has been commissioned by The Lancet to propose a new category of “profound autism”, which would include children older...
Landmark SCA ruling a major setback for Health Department
A key strategy of the Department of Health to tackle its multi-million rand burden of medico-legal claims has been dealt a major blow, with...
Harmful chemicals found in SA sanitary products – UFS study
Menstrual products used by millions of South Africans may contain hormone-disrupting chemicals – even when marketed as “free from harmful chemicals” – suggests research...
Livingstone Hospital evicts 50 nurses
More than 50 nurses have been evicted from what was meant to be temporary accommodation at Livingstone Hospital, forcing many to scramble for places...
First Eastern Cape public IVF clinic opens
Eastern Cape Health has just launched the province’s first public in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) clinic, which opened at Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital in Mthatha last...
KZN MEC stands by claims about private paramedics
KwaZulu-Natal Transport & Human Settlements MEC Siboniso Duma has said he will not retract his remarks or apologise for insulting private paramedics, reports News24.
Duma's...
US threatens Gavi over vaccines ingredient
The US Government has threatened to withdraw all future funding unless Gavi, the vaccine alliance, removes the ingredient thimerosal from its vaccines. This comes...
Hospitals, clinics, battered by Limpopo floods
Persistent heavy rains and flooding have caused extensive damage to a number of health facilities in Limpopo, leaving some partially inaccessible while others are...
Call for ‘heartless’ MEC’s axing after ‘sleeping on the floor’ comment
In a Marie Antoinette-style “let them eat cake” PR disaster, the head of Gauteng Health has come in for scathing criticism after denying that...
High deaths rates among starving Limpopo children – Wits study
Thousands of South African children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition (SAM), say concerned experts, calling for urgent review of data quality and reporting...
Why obesity should be treated as a chronic disease in South Africa
One in every three adult South Africans is obese, and yet the condition is not treated as a chronic disease in this country –...