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Top job for disgraced former hospital CEO
Former Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital CEO Dr Nozuko Mkabayi, slammed by former Health Ombudsman Professor Malegapuru Makgoba for her appalling performance during her...
Probe into Bara’s AWOL high-flying plastic surgeon
Gauteng Health has launched an investigation into plastic surgeon Dr Brian Monaisa, who has been accused by his peers of skipping work for months...
Non-payment closes theatres in Gauteng hospital
A frustrated supplier, fed-up with delayed payment from Leratong Hospital in Mogale City, Johannesburg, for replacement of an air conditioning system, has “soft-locked” a...
WHO warning on deadly viral hepatitis
At least 3 500 lives are lost daily due to viral hepatitis infections, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) 2024 Global Hepatitis Report, with...
Post-surgery complications higher for African children
After a recent study revealed abysmal outcomes after anaesthesia and surgery for African children with complication rates up to four-fold higher and mortality rates...
New cholera vaccine-makers gearing up as global stocks run out
The global stockpile of cholera vaccine has dried up, with doses being given to patients as fast as they are produced, but the good...
Don’t panic, say experts as HIV drug flagged for resistance
Results from recent studies reveal the emergence of resistance in subsets of HIV patients to dolutegravir – an antiretroviral commonly used in South Africa...
Focus on private practice, experts urge jobless young doctors
As KZN relented after protests by unemployed junior doctors, and advertised 120 posts for medics this week, experts are suggesting that the debate should...
Health Ombud hamstrung by lack of funds
The Office of the Health Ombudsman is battling to resolve serious complaints against public and private health facilities because it has no money to hire investigators.
Health-e...
Gauteng claims surgery backlog cleared
Gauteng Health says it has cleared its massive backlog of 37 000 operations, including of stoma reversals – completing 100 of these procedures in...
Half of SA’s forensic pathology units fail competency tests
Nearly half of the country’s forensic pathology units have failed to achieve competency certification – with just three out of 16 in the Eastern...
One in four HIV+ South Africans not on treatment
Around 50 000 people died of HIV-related causes and around 7.8m were living with HIV in South Africa in 2023 – but only 5.9m...
Tanzania winning NCD war as it merges HIV and diabetes care
Non-communicable diseases like hypertension and diabetes have emerged as serious health crises in developing countries, as HIV was a decade ago. New models of...
Contaminated water linked to soaring KZN pink eye cases
The National Eye Health Advocacy Project believes there could be a link between an outbreak of ‘pink eye’ – conjunctivitis – in KwaZulu-Natal and...
Rubella cases reported on Garden Route
Although it has not yet declared an outbreak, the National Institute of Communicable Diseases has confirmed 11 cases of rubella (German measles) on the Garden...
Dramatic drop in condom distribution raises HIV concern
Condom distribution in SA has declined drastically over the past five years, found a Spotlight analysis of data recently published in the Health System...
Eastern Cape Health starts year owing billions in unpaid bills
The Eastern Cape Department of Health, which owes suppliers R4.8bn, is in an increasingly fragile financial position – with critics saying there is no...
Hospital liable for child’s blindness
Gauteng Health can expect to fork out millions after a court confirmed a child’s blindness resulted from negligence at a state hospital after her...
Temporary ambulance numbers as Eastern Cape phones cut
With Telkom lines to most Eastern Cape Department of Health facilities being cut due to non-payment of bills, the phone numbers of ambulance bases...
Communities mourn murdered medics
The medical fraternity has been hit with more tragedy with the unrelated murders of two healthcare workers this week; a Hilton, KwaZulu-Natal paediatrician, Dr...
Funding dries up for successful telehealth diabetes project
A groundbreaking diabetes telemedicine programme in the Western Cape has effected a return on investment (ROI) of 284% to 784% per year – but...
SA's maternal mortality rate declines, health barometer shows
The Western Cape is the only province that meets the UN Sustainable Development Goal target of reducing maternal mortality to below 70 maternal deaths...
Abuse, humiliation rife in state health facilities – Ritshidze report
A lack of privacy, scarcity of lubricants and key population groups allegedly being denied antiretrovirals (ARVs) are some of the issues highlighted in the...
Signs of hope at Rahima Moosa Hospital
It’s been a year since the release of a damning Health Ombud’s report on Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital (RMMCH). This month also marks the...
SA scientists warn of HIV-like obesity epidemic
With obesity rates rising at an alarming rate, according to a new World Health Organisation (WHO) study, South African researchers say the problem in...
NHI funds should not be in state’s hands – Profmed CEO
Profmed CEO Craig Comrie said the NHI Bill lacks a proper funding model and gives too much control to the Health Minister, and that...
Theatre lists cut as Western Cape hospital battle slashed budgets
The impact of national budget cuts on services has been flagged by the Western Cape’s tertiary hospitals, which have highlighted the restriction on filling...
Curbing antibiotic use reduces AMR – report
A decline in antibiotic-resistant bacteria has been observed in European countries that have curbed the use of antibiotics in both animals and humans, according...
Medics struggled to break death news during Covid – SA study
Breaking bad news is now an integral part of most healthcare professional training, but it’s important to teach how to do it using different...
Gauteng plan to review doctors' overtime pay policy a 'disaster'
The decision by the Gauteng Department of Health to “review” the policy of overtime for doctors – a requirement of the job to ensure...
More money to hire doctors but health sector still under pressure
The good news is that National Treasury has made good on Health Minister Joe Phaahla’s promise that the government would find the money to...
About-turn as Phaahla says jobless doctors will be hired – by April
In a complete turnaround, and in contrast to previous statements and declarations by the National Department of Health that it has no money, on...
Western Cape experts appeal for end to health budget cuts
An open letter signed by more than 16 academic heads of departments and nearly 1 000 senior clinicians, nursing leaders and health workers in...
Pioneering 30-year SA research offers insight into key health changes
In 1992, a group of academics from the University of the Witwatersrand introduced a health and socio-demographic surveillance system in remote, rural South Africa...
Doctors without jobs as health purse tightens
With the number of unemployed recently qualified doctors standing at almost 700, Health Minister Joe Phaahla this week said provinces are unable to afford...
Diet pills and laxatives abused by teens globally, meta-analysis finds
Non-prescription diet pills, diuretics and laxatives are being widely used by adolescents – especially girls – worldwide, say researchers, who warn that the products...
Dismal scores for SA public health in global citizens survey
Only about one-third of South Africans have confidence in the overall health system, including primary public services such as mental health, maternity and paediatrics,...
SA’s male murder statistics a health crisis, says SAMRC
The South African Medical Research Council says an urgent national response is needed to probe the high murder rate of men – 87% –...
WHO warns that world could lose malaria fight as cases rise
A new report from WHO says the world risks lose the fight against malaria, as cases rose by around 5m year-on-year in 2022, exceeding...
Childhood jabs at risk as medical and religious freedom wins ground
Medical and religious freedom lobbying – bouyed by successes in overturning coronavirus vaccine mandates in some areas – has led to an increasing number...