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Hospital 'pulmonologist' with two surgeries among 18 bogus doctor arrests
A “pulmonologist” with two private surgeries and a specialist appointment at the Far East Rand Hospital is among 18 arrests by the Health Professions Council...
'Almost all' 62,000 excess SA deaths this year due to COVID-19
South African hospitals likely under-reported the number of patients with the coronavirus and the death toll probably much higher than the official figure, with...
SA unlikely to get Pfizer vaccine before mid-2021 — Madhi
The chances of SA getting a significant volume of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine before end June 2021 are “extremely unlikely”, said Wits University professor of...
Discovery ordered to stop low-cost primary health care products
The Council of Medical Schemes Appeal Board has upheld an appeal by the Board of Healthcare Funders and revoked Discovery's earlier permission from the...
Business lashes Ramaphosa over lockdown uncertainty
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s silence on the possible return to lockdown level two regulations is upsetting the business community, Die Burger reports.
Business for SA...
Health Minister Mkhize denies claims of cash siphoned to ANC
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has again denied allegations about donations to the ANC made during his tenure as the party’s treasurer-general, as claimed by...
Madhi: SA's contact tracing app is just 'wishful thinking'
Contact tracing has failed and government app is little more than “wishful thinking”, says Wits University’s professor Shabir Madhi, in a Sunday Times report.
Science...
Pandemic's 'severe' financial impact on medical profession
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a severe financial impact on South African practitioners with some GPs, cardiothoracic surgeons and neurosurgeons losing up to 80%...
Cellphone of murdered anaesthetist was being tracked
The geographical position of the cellphone carried murdered Johannesburg anaesthetist Dr Abdulhay Munshi was being constantly tracked by the man now accused of the...
Mboweni's MTBS document reveals deep cuts to NHI projects
A document tabled in Parliament by Finance Minister Tito Mboweni reveals cuts to public health spending that were not elaborated upon in the Medium-Term...
Human Rights Watch backs SA move to waive vaccine IP rights
Human Rights Watch has called on governments around the world to support South Africa’s and India’s proposal to waive aspects of global intellectual property...
SANDF spends R200m on unapproved Cuban COVID drug
The SA National Defence Force is secretly spending more than R200m on a Cuban COVID-19 treatment that the health regulator has not registered for...
Accountants uncover 'parallel' PPE procurement system in Eastern Cape
As oversight bodies examining the plundering of COVID-19 emergency funds have uncovered a sophisticated 'parallel procurement system' in the Eastern Cape, while in KwaZulu-Natal,...
Second wave inevitable if SA doesn't change behaviour – Abdool Karim
December holiday travel should be limited to avoid a surge in pandemic infections, Professor Salim Abdool Karim, co-chair of the COVID-19 Ministerial Advisory Committee...
SA hospitals warn of high cost of health neglect
The Hospital Association of South Africa, which represents most private hospitals, has warned that – as elsewhere in the world – many people have...
Mkhize seeks Covid-style powers on any disease outbreak
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has flighted far-reaching proposals to change the National Health Act’s regulations on notifiable diseases, which would give him the power...
Mystery doctor on MAC allegedly has bogus qualifications
A doctor who President Cyril Ramaphosa is claimed to have recommended Health Minister Zweli Mkhize appoint to the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Covid-19 is...
Mkhize: Cubans a 'saving' compared to SA specialists
Health minister Zweli Mkhize says the remuneration of the Cuban doctors is actually a “saving” and that he may extend their deployment.
Business Day reports...
Only 28% of emergency PPE suppliers registered with Sahpra
An analysis shows that only 28% of personal protective equipment (PPE) suppliers that benefited from R2,5bn in emergency pandemic expenditure were licensed by the...
SIU: Corruption is 'part of health sector's DNA'
Corruption is rife within South African health sector institutions such as the state laboratory service, the health professions council and the product oversight authority,...
Munshi murder: Doctor groups call for government action
South African doctor groups have called for government intervention to ensure the safety of healthcare workers, followed the allegedly targeted recent murder of Johannesburg...
Gang wearing PPE shoots patient dead in Kimberley hospital
An armed gang dressed in personal protective equipment (PPE) walked into a hospital in Kimberley in the Northern Cape and shot a patient dead...
Healthcare corruption trends laid bare in ACT report
“Deeply troubling” trends of corruption within the healthcare sector are revealed in the latest edition of the Analysis of Corruption Trends (ACT) report released...
SIU Tribunal: Health MEC must answer over scooter saga
Eastern Cape Health MEC Sindiswa Gomba blamed apartheid for the murky acquisition of 100 scooters with side-cars to use as mobile clinics has been...
Mkhize: Changes in pandemic bring changes to MACs
Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize has announced substantial changes to the Ministerial Advisory Committee on COVID-19, pulling in social and behavioural scientists because of...
Health Dept warns over planned 3-day funerals strike
Some of the funeral industry is planning a three-day national shutdown in a bid to get government's attention over a long list of demands...
NHI Bill: Inadequate measures to prevent looting, warns DA
The National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill has inadequate checks and balances to prevent money being looted on a huge scale, the Democratic Alliance (DA)...
More than a third of South Africans have had COVID-19 — Madhi
Based on antibody testing, between 35% and 40% of South Africans have been infected by COVID-19, estimates Prof Shabhir Madhi, a member of the Medical...
SARS: Pandemic tenderers for PPE mostly not tax compliant
More than a R1bn in personal protective equipment (PPE) tenders went to politically connected persons and 63% of the companies were not even tax...
Almost a million fewer HIV tests in first month of lockdown
Testing for HIV at public health facilities declined 57% during the first month of lockdown instituted because of the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa,...
Leaked SA govt analysis: Severe healthcare staff shortages by 2025
South Africa requires billions of rands of additional investment to avoid severe public sector healthcare worker shortages by 2025, according to a leaked ministerial...
AG reveals scale of COVID-19 procurement corruption; UIF execs suspended
The first report-back today by the Auditor-General on the extent of the COVID-19 corruption has uncovered outright fraud and widespread ignoring of procurement rules...
Court forbids Nehawu's national strike on pain of SAPS intervention
Friday's planned nationwide strike by National Education, Health & Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) members was stopped after the National Health Laboratory Services (NHLS) obtained...
COVID-19 corruption scandal hits R5bn and is still growing
South Africa's pandemic corruption scandal continues to grow, with R5bn of the R10.38bn spent in relief efforts now under investigation, writes MedicalBrief.
The South African...
Mkhize: Fast-track medical visas and a database for unemployed locals
Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize informed Parliament that a national database of unemployed health professionals has been compiled to address the shortage of infectious...
Locum arrested; Gauteng doctor faces disciplinary proceedings
Following a random inspection by the Health Professions Council of SA at a Gauteng practice, a non-registered locum was arrested while her medical practitioner employee...
MAC experts question need for a WHO 'surge team'
Members of the ministerial advisory committee (MAC) who have been advising the South African Health Department on COVID-19, have questioned the need for a...
RAF payment problems hit medical experts, endangering practices
Medical experts have been hard hit by the twin forces of Road Accident Fund (RAF) non-payments and COVID-19, potentially making their practices financially unsustainable.
The...
Nehawu threatens nationwide strike and at National Health Labs
The National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) will launch a national work stoppage on Friday (21 August) and potentially a national strike...
SA's nurses: Poorly trained, in poor health, and living in fear
Most of South Africa's nurses lack confidence in their training, more than 40% have poor health, and a quarter are experiencing severe psychological distress, reports...