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Once a rural health flagship, now the 'hospital of death'
Following the passage of the National Health Insurance Act, the challenge is to bring public hospitals up to an acceptable standard, writes MedicalBrief. It will...
Unicef report warns that 25% of SA’s toddlers face severe food poverty
A report by the United Nations Children’s Agency Unicef shows that almost a quarter (23%) of South African children under five are at risk...
Protests at Eastern Cape hospital over doctor's transfer
Protests have erupted from hospital staff and the local community after a senior doctor, who has worked at Zithulele Hospital in the Eastern Cape...
SA records first mpox death
The country recorded its first death from mpox on Monday when a 37-year-old man died in Tembisa Hospital, with Health Minister Joe Phaahla saying...
Rahima Moosa Hospital again under fire over patient treatment
Gauteng Health has denied allegations that a pregnant patient was badly treated or forced to sleep in chairs and on the floor at Rahima...
DNA technology may impede MDR-TB progress – SA Health Department
The National Department of Health plans to use DNA technology to test whether the genetic make-up of TB germs has changed in such a...
International health volunteers 'can harm' local relationships in Africa
Every year, thousands of international health volunteers travel to Africa with the intention of “improving health outcomes” and learning about “global health”. However, from...
US National Academies' report underscores severity of long Covid
One of America’s premier medical advisory organisations has weighed in on long Covid with a 265-page report that recognises the seriousness and persistence of...
SA's rollout of HIV prevention jabs stymied by price
Although HIV infections in South Africa have plummeted in 20 years, from highs of more than 500 00 to around 149 000 in 2023, new...
Face masks for school as RSV cases surge
Authorities in the Western Cape Health Department have sounded a warning about respiratory infections among children, which have risen in the past month and...
Who's in the running to be Health Minister in a coalition government?
With a coalition government now one of the options going forward after last week's elections, ministerial posts – including the top health job –...
Ozempic use surges by 600% in children – US analysis
The number of 12- to 25-year-olds using GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy has climbed by almost 600%, according to a recent analysis of...
Simple measures can help fight ‘superbugs’ – Lancet series
South African scientists are among an international group urging better use of existing tools for preventing the spread of bacteria, saying wider access to...
Covid wiped out decade of life expectancy progress
The recently released World Health Statistics 2024 report urges countries to redouble their efforts towards health-related sustainable development goals by 2030, as the pandemic...
Vaccines saved 154m lives over 50 years – Lancet study
Vaccinations have played a massive role in saving millions of lives over the past half century, the successful eradication of smallpox, certified in 1980,...
African countries pledge to end ‘silent disease’
African countries will prioritise plans to eliminate hepatitis, according to a declaration signed and adopted this week at the African Viral Hepatitis Conference in Cape...
Leprosy persists in South Africa despite 'elimination' status – 20-year study
Although leprosy has been eliminated (<1 case per 10 000 population) in South Africa since 1926, new cases continue to be reported, say experts,...
True impact of Covid still unknown – Global Burden of Disease study
Covid-19 has been the world's largest health setback in more than 70 years as measured by life expectancy, according to the Global Burden of...
New Bara CEO’s credentials under scrutiny
The appointment of Dr Nthabiseng Makgana as the CEO of Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital has raised concerns by workers and the HR department...
Tembisa Hospital buckling under pressure of shortages
Gauteng Health’s MEC has admitted Tembisa Hospital is struggling to provide services to patients, thanks to 104 vacancies and a critical lack of equipment,...
Ultra-processed food linked to higher death risk – 30-year study
A three-decades’ long study has concluded that although higher consumption of most ultra-processed foods is linked to a slightly higher risk of death, it...
Can consuming olive oil help reduce dementia?
Harvard University researchers recently suggested that adding just a spoonful of olive oil to your diet every day not only provides powerful health benefits...
Why we’re seeing so many viruses emerge
With the widespread outbreak of mpox in 2022, and the evolving bird flu situation – as well as recent cases of Marburg virus in Equatorial...
New SAMRC chief aims to ‘restore trust in science’
Professor Ntobeko Ntusi, who takes over the hot seat at the South African Medical Research Council in July, may be soft-spoken but he is unafraid...
Pharmacy ARV treatment will erode GPs’ income – HPCSA
The Health Professions Council of SA (HPCSA) has warned against pharmacists being allowed to prescribe HIV treatment, saying it could affect the income of...
Overtime cuts impact on hospital services
Cutting doctors’ overtime will have a significant impact on service delivery, particularly on weekends and holidays, with one physician saying this could see hospitals...
New SAHPRA guidelines planned to address codeine abuse
South Africa’s medicines regulator is developing a new set of initiatives to stem the misuse of codeine, found in certain pain relief medicines and...
Three reforms to prioritise to turn around SA healthcare
To drum up support as South Africans head to the polls, President Cyril Ramaphosa reportedly vowed to “end the apartheid that remains in healthcare”...
Diabetes a leading killer in SA, but we don't know how many have it
Although diabetes is the second leading cause of death in SA after TB, there is no clear picture of how many people have it...
Mpumalanga patient waits more than a year for MRI
A bedridden father’s struggle for an MRI scan appointment has highlighted the massive healthcare challenges in Mpumalanga, where none of the main hospitals has...
SA could eliminate malaria by 2028 – Health Department
Despite recording about 9 800 cases last year, South Africa is on course to “eliminate” malaria by 2028 as outlined in the National Malaria...
Eastern Cape nurses demand better security after fatal robbery
A brutal robbery at a rural clinic in which a security guard died in a hail of bullets has enraged nursing unions in the...
Pollution linked to stress, heart disease deaths – US study
A study in more than 3 000 US counties, involving more than 315m residents, has suggested that air pollution is linked with stress and...
Activists march for unused R784m to be spent on cancer patients
Despite R784m being set aside by the provincial treasury in March last year for the outsourcing of radiation treatment in Gauteng, the money has...
Scientists warn cake and drinks sweetener can ‘damage gut wall’
The sugar substitute E961 (neotame), used in chewing gum and cakes, among other things, can have a “toxic effect on health”, and damage intestinal...
R2.4bn needed to fill 2 012 vacant posts – Phaahla
Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla says there are 2 012 unfunded vacant posts of medical doctors countrywide – this does not include other categories...
PM to crack down on ‘sick note’ culture in UK
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will be cracking down on what he describes as a “sick note culture”, after pointing out that 94% of...
Adult vaccine programmes give 19x returns, finds world report
A first-of-its-kind study has underscored the dual benefits of adult immunisation programmes, with the experts concluding that these can deliver a return of up to...
Stop resistance to NHI, says ANC
While South Africans face the prospect of little or no private healthcare in the future under the National Health Insurance (NHI), in the UK,...
Call for urology collaboration to address dire shortage
There’s a dire shortage of urology specialists in South Africa, and thus, an urgent need for primary care physicians (PCPs) to be able to...