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Weekly Roundup
SA Health Review: HR weaknesses threaten NHI
“Major gaps and weaknesses in the current human resources-for-health foundation must be addressed to ensure a high-quality health system and the success of the...
UK on course to zero HIV transmissions by 2030 — govt report
A report by Public Health England shows that HIV transmission in the UK has continued to fall, by as much as 71% in some...
Cancer mortality down 29% since 1991 but slow progress with some — ACS report
The cancer death rate declined by 29% from 1991 to 2017, including a 2.2% drop from 2016 to 2017, the largest single-year drop in...
FF+ concern over loss of Makgoba as Health Ombud
The Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus) has released a statement saying it is concerned with Malegapuru Makgoba’s appointment as Eskom’s interim chair but even...
DA petitions for removal of Gauteng hospital's management
The Democratic Alliance in Gauteng has launched a petition to remove the CEO and top management of the failing Bheki Mlangeni Hospital in Soweto,...
Slain patient's brother angry over lack of Durban hospital security
The brother of the Nigerian man murdered in a Durban hospital in an apparent hit has lashed out at the lack of security at...
Man arrested for allegedly shooting wife and son in hospital emergency ward
A 51-year-old man was arrested after he allegedly shot his wife and son in the casualty ward of St Rita’s Hospital in Limpopo, reports...
North West Health boss fired over alleged Gupta fraud links
The North West government has confirmed its head of health, Thabo Lekalakala – accused of entering into fraudulent contracts with Gupta-linked company Mediosa –...
Helen Suzman Foundation releases its National Health Insurance Bill submission
In a four-part brief series, Anton van Dalsen reviews the National Health Insurance Bill (NHI Bill). The briefs are based on a submission made...
Quicker test being trialled to help prevent permanent deafness in babies
Newborn babies could be saved from permanent deafness thanks to a new test being pioneered in Manchester, reports a Manchester Evening News report. Some...
Flu deaths in US already up 65% with unseasonal presence of influenza B virus
Flu deaths in the US are up more than 65% so far in 2020, with the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)...
WHO warns of possible wider outbreak of mystery strain of coronavirus
There may have been limited human-to-human transmission of a new coronavirus in China within families, and it is possible there could be a wider...
FDA approves Merck’s Ketruda — first new treatment for bladder cancer in 20 years
The US Food and Drug Administration has announced it approved Merck & Co Inc’s Keytruda for a hard-to-treat form of bladder cancer, making it...
UK licences radical ketamine-like drug to treat depression
A radical ketamine-like drug has been licensed for use in the UK for severe depression, a decision that offers hope to the millions of...
800 Aids community health workers jobless after Tshwane terminates contracts
About 800 Tshwane Aids community health workers have been left in the lurch without jobs after the city terminated their contracts and appointed new...
Eastern Cape Health official arrested for ARV theft
Free State police arrested two suspects for the possession of boxes and bags full of antiretroviral tablets at Bloemfontein Railway Station on Thursday of...
Computer theft closes down Khayelitsha clinic
A Cape Town clinic which treats 400 patients daily has been closed after the theft of eight computers, reports The Times. Burglars broke into...
SA's medical regulator fires more top managers, raising capacity concerns
South Africa’s medical schemes regulator has taken the shock decision to terminate the services of all but three of the senior managers reporting to...
WHO approves cheap version of ground-breaking breast cancer drug
A cheap version of the ground-breaking breast cancer drug Herceptin has been approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO), raising the possibility of lifesaving...
Health minister caps 2020 medicine price increases
Prices of medicines and scheduled substances will only be adjusted by a maximum of 4.53% in 2020, health minister Zweli Mkhize announced in a...
Roaccutane link to 10 suicides leads to UK drugs regulator re-opening inquiry
In the UK, 10 suicides this year have been linked to a powerful acne drug as that country's medicines regulator re-opens an inquiry into...
Durban Hospital accused of contravening the Human Tissues Act
Medical experts and health workers were outraged after learning that patients’ stillborn babies were allegedly left at the foot of their beds at Wentworth...
WHO approves a third pneumococcal conjugate vaccine
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has just quality assured a third pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV), manufactured by the Serum Institute of India, that protects...
Thousands of Parkinson's patients initially misdiagnosed
Research has found that more than a quarter of people with Parkinson’s disease were initially misdiagnosed, reports The Guardian. The poll of more than...
New HPV vaccine to be tested in a clinical trial
The broadest vaccine yet that could clear up persistent HPV infections and reduce the risk of women developing cervical cancer is to be tested...
KZN paramedic temporarily blinded in robbery
An ambulance assistant was left temporarily blinded after he was sprayed with a liquid during an ambulance robbery in Ntuzuma E section, north of...
Over 1,000 sexual assaults in NHS mixed-sex mental health wards
The Health Service Journal (UK) reports that it has obtained new figures that show there have been at least 1,019 reports of sexual assaults...
FDA approves generic versions of Novartis' top multiple sclerosis drug
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved three generic versions of Swiss drugmaker Novartis’ top-selling multiple sclerosis (MS) medicine Gilenya, reports Reuters Health....
10-minute blood test claimed to revolutionise sepsis diagnosis
A quick blood test could revolutionise the diagnosis of sepsis, says a Daily Mail report. Developed by the inventor of the home pregnancy test,...
Lean management system reduces neonatal deaths at Leratong Hospital by 42%
The Leratong Hospital in Krugersdorp in Johannesburg has managed to reduce its neonatal deaths by 42% in 12 months using the so-called daily lean...
KZN cops allegedly colluded with private ambulance services
Five police officials are among eight suspects who have appeared before the Pietermaritzburg Magistrate's Court on corruption charges, reports News24. The Hawks said the...
Second Australian state votes to legalise voluntary assisted dying
Western Australia has legalised voluntary assisted dying, becoming the second state in the country to do so, reports BBC News. Victoria legalised assisted dying...
Germany approves law that will boost digital healthcare
German law makers have approved a new law which will boost innovation in digital healthcare. Out-Law.com reports that this is according to Marc L...
Gauteng Health says it is tackling the cancellation of theatre procedures
Gauteng Health says it has put measures in place to address the cancellation of theatre procedures at the province’s academic hospitals, reports The Times....
FDA grants speedy review to AstraZeneca's lung cancer drug
British drugmaker AstraZeneca has announced that its immunotherapy cancer treatment Imfinzi has been granted a speedy review by the US medicines watchdog for the...
Broomberg to lead Discovery's global Vitality health business
Discovery has appointed Jonathan Broomberg, the CEO of one of its largest and most profitable divisions, to lead a new business unit that will...
Nursing vacancies in England set to double in next 10 years
The number of nursing vacancies across England will more than double over the next 10 years if action is not taken to improve recruitment,...
Controversial NHS plans to ration 'unnecessary' tests and treatments
Millions of patients in England will be stopped from having an X-ray on their sore back, hernia repair surgery or scan of their knee...
Deadly militia attacks could see resurgence of the DRC's Ebola epidemic
International organisations have warned of a potential resurgence of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) after deadly militia attacks on health centres...
World Aids Day: SA to get new state-of-the-art HIV treatment
South Africans living with HIV will from 1 December be able to switch to a simpler, more affordable, more effective treatment, known as the...