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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...
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...