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Public Health
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...
Long-term HIV/TB Eshowe project closes after major achievements
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) will this month close its long-term HIV and TB project in Eshowe and Mbongolwane, ending the organisation’s more...
Bleach ineffective in killing fatal hospital superbug – UK research
Liquid bleach does not kill off a hospital superbug that can cause fatal infections, found British researchers, saying it is no more effective than...
Weight-loss drugs frenzy risks return of body size stigma
As another weight-loss drug was this week approved in the US, adding to the tsunami of demand for the medicines, there is concern that...
Hospital CEOs warn of cash run-out as budget cuts bite
The CEOs of the Western Cape’s three academic hospitals have warned that, because of severe funding cuts, they could run out of cash in...
Concern as diabetes deaths double in past decade
Deaths due to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are rising in South Africa, the increase being particularly startling because overall, the country has been recording a...
How the state is working to reduce stockouts
Over the past 10 years, the National Health Department has rolled out a range of electronic surveillance systems to monitor medicine stocks throughout healthcare...
Chronic diseases on the rise, warns Stats SA
Stats SA has warned that deaths from chronic medical conditions have increased, its latest report showing that mortality linked to cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes...
Should nurses be allowed to hand out psychiatric drugs?
Because people with HIV are at greater risk of mental health problems like depression or anxiety – which could stop them from taking their...
Lessons for NHI in world's largest health study?
A study being billed as the world's largest, and which hopes to address the failings of the UK's National Health Service (NHS) and reduce...
Corruption fears as Kenyan President signs UHC Bill
Kenyan President William Ruto has approved controversial legislation in the biggest shake-up of the health sector in more than 20 years, with a new...
Vaping scourge among children prompts long-term health effects study
Vaping has become a scourge among children that’s as alarming as cigarette smoking used to be, both in SA and worldwide, with experts saying...
Top health experts rally behind ousted Eastern Cape Health boss
A group of doctors and activists has launched a campaign and signed a petition demanding the reinstatement of Eastern Cape Health HoD Rolene Wagner,...
Eastern Cape Health boss under fire in 'political clean-out'
Eastern Cape director-general for Health, Dr Rolene Wagner, who has eliminated R1bn in previous unauthorised expenditure and saved billions more in crippling provincial medico-legal...
High TB death rate, a worry – Phaahla
The Department of Health has raised concerns over the death rate among TB patients in the country – the WHO estimated 56 000 deaths...