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Weekly Roundup
Africa disappointed by WHO's contraceptive recommendations
African experts and activists have been left disappointed by the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) updated contraceptive recommendations and have labelled them rushed and unconcerned...
Efficacious meningitis drug 'no longer registered' anywhere in Africa
Despite the fact that cryptococcal meningitis is the second leading killer of people living with HIV, it mostly flies under the radar. According to...
More than 30 SA hospitals report serious security incidents in past 5 months
Staff held at gunpoint, kidnapped newborns and assaults – more than 30 hospitals across the country have reported serious security incidents in just the...
Nursing students threaten JHB college staff over certificate delays
Staff at a Johannesburg nursing college claim to be living in fear, following delays to the issuing of certificates to former students. The Star...
Gauteng Health recorded under 1% adverse events in year to end June 2019
Gauteng Health reports it recorded fewer than 1% of adverse events in its public health facilities from March 2018 to June 2019.
News24 reports that the...
Limpopo patient wounds nurse then turns gun on himself
A patient at the Polokwane Provincial Hospital shot and injured a nurse on Friday of last week before turning the gun on himself and...
Merger of BPSA and Momentum Health under investigation
The Competition Commission has launched an investigation into the merger between a small medical scheme for employees of oil company BP Southern Africa (BPSA)...
Thebemed placed under provisional curatorship by CMS
South Africa’s foremost black-owned and managed healthcare administrator, Thebemed Medical Scheme, has been placed under provisional curatorship by the Council for Medical Schemes (CMS)...
CMS gives medical schemes merger the green light
The Council for Medical Schemes has given the green light to the merger of CompCare Wellness Medical Scheme and Selfmed. This comes after the...
Changed qualification requirements will exacerbate nursing shortage
The training of nurses in 2020 is in jeopardy because of extensive delays at key regulatory authorities, which must provide fresh accreditation to all...
Malaria eradication goals remain out of reach — WHO report
The World Health Organisation (WHO) says accelerated research and development (R&D) in new tools for malaria prevention and treatment is key if the world...
PSC visits EC mental health facility after reports of neglect
The Public Service Commission (PSC) has made a surprise visit to the Cecilia Makiwane Mental Health Unit. Spotlight reports that this was 10 days after...
DA's oversight visit to 'understaffed' Mamelodi Hospital
Following an oversight visit to Mamelodi Hospital in Tshwane, the Democratic Alliance (DA) says it is not surprised by recent reports of a woman...
SAHPRA working to clear licensing backlogs dating to 1992
The South African medicines control body is working around the clock to clear a backlog of new licensing, dating back to 1992 reports Health-e...
Cost of training of doctors in Cuba double that of training in SA
Jack Bloom, Democratic Alliance (DA) Gauteng shadow health MEC writes in a report on the Politicsweb site.
The annual cost of training South Africans to...
Exodus of people qualified to perform abortion services in SA
Lack of support for termination of pregnancy (TOP) service providers in the public health sector has led to an exodus of qualified people who...
HRC to investigate Limpopo's delay in suspending 'rude' nurse
The SA Human Rights Council (SAHRC) has announced that it is to investigate complaints that a nurse who had insulted a patient in February...
Approval given to Roche's personalised cancer treatment
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved Roche Holding AG’s personalised cancer treatment, which targets tumours with specific genetic mutations, irrespective of where...
Pietermaritzburg hospital faces claims of poor treatment
Northdale Hospital in Pietermaritzburg is under scrutiny following cases of alleged staff negligence reported to KwaZulu-Natal Health, reports Health24. Recent complaints from the community...
Despite FDA warnings, bleach promoted as 'miracle' cancer cure in the US
Advocates of a “medicine” called MMS are gathering in a hotel in upstate New York to promote what they claim to be a miracle...
Breastfeeding rates in SA increased but still short of global targets
While exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months of a baby’s life has steadily increased in South Africa over the past decade, the country...
'Growing numbers' of SA women blame implants for depression and fatigue
A Johannesburg woman who always wanted fuller breasts had silicone implants when she was 25 to give her the 34C bust she desired. According...
Drug-related deaths reach record numbers in the England and Wales
Drug deaths rose sharply in England and Wales to reach record numbers last year, BBC News reports official figures show. There were 2,917 deaths...
UK community nurses leaving their 'stressful and heavy workload' jobs
Morale among community nurses in the UK is low and many are leaving the service due to stress and an increased workload. According to...
Procedure to delay menopause by up to 20 years
A medical procedure that aims to allow women to delay the menopause for up to 20 years has been launched by IVF specialists in...
FDA notifies companies to remove hookah products from the market
The US Food and Drug Administration has told four companies to remove 44 of their flavoured e-liquid and hookah tobacco products that do not...
Northern Cape Health splurges R11m on 25 TVs that stand unused
The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union report that Northern Cape Health bought 25 flat-screen televisions at a cost of R11m (R300,000 each), with...
SA weighs shorter treatment for patients on Roche cancer drug
The Health Department is considering shortening breast cancer treatment for patients eligible for Roche’s costly trastuzumab, in the wake of a large study that...
Ministers reassure SA Cabinet that Ebola risk is low
International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor and Health Minister Zweli Mkhize both briefed the Cabinet last week about the outbreak, as well as...
Disappointment as NHS Scotland rejects use of cystic fibrosis drug
People with cystic fibrosis in Scotland will continue to be denied potentially life-extending drugs after they were rejected for use by the National Health...
UK introduces wearable tech to monitor those at risk of diabetes
Thousands of people in England at risk of contracting type 2 diabetes will receive wearable tech to help monitor their exercise level, The Guardian...
Community nurses to be absorbed into Gauteng Health
Nurses who were appointed in 2017, who had to carry out compulsory community service before they were allowed to practice independently, should be paid...
Gauteng Health's budget increased to R50.8bn
Gauteng Health has been allocated R50.8bn for the 2019/2020 financial year, this being one of the largest allocations in the provincial government. However, says...
Regulator rejects Momentum/BP scheme merger
The medical schemes regulator has rejected a proposed merger between South Africa’s third biggest medical scheme, Momentum Health, and a small scheme restricted to...
Eastern Cape facility for mentally ill 'like something out of a horror movie'
Housing the mentally ill in a condemned building with little security sounds like something out of a horror movie. But, says a Spotlight report,...
Uganda starts preventative Ebola vaccine trial
Uganda has started its largest-ever trial of a preventative Ebola vaccine, an official said, amid fears of a potential spill-over of the deadly haemorrhagic...
Imminent arrival of dolutegravir stocks in the Western Cape
Western Cape Health is expecting to receive stock of a new antiretroviral (ARV) treatment called dolutegravir (DTG) by September, a drug that can be...
Another delay in formal recognition of traditional healers
Traditional healers face a new delay in their long-running campaign to be formally recognised as health practitioners, says a Sunday Times report.
The Traditional Health...
Two 'missing' state nurses found in a sangoma training camp
Two state nurses who went missing six months ago have been found at a sangoma training camp in New Brighton, reports The Herald. The...
Death toll in Australia's flu epidemic nears 300
A 13-year-old girl from Melbourne died from the flu late last week, as the death toll nears 300 in Australia. The Guardian reports that...