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Weekly Roundup
Smoking, drinking, obesity and anti-vaxxers put Europe at risk — WHO report
The World Health Organisation’s (WHO’s) flagship publication, the European Health Report 2018, welcomes an increase in life expectancy and reductions in premature mortality, but...
Trauma cases strain EC's Livingstone Hospital to the limit
You may have to lie in a Livingstone Hospital bed for an entire month before a surgeon operates on your broken ankle. The Herald...
Tips on medication adherence in HIV/AIDS
Infectious Disease Advisor has tips on improving medication adherence in HIV patients.
Patients with HIV are living longer thanks to advances in antiretroviral therapy (ART)....
Anger over one-year bridging course for foreign-trained students
South African students who study medicine abroad will have to complete a one-year bridging course at a local university. According to a Sunday Tribune...
SAHRC to hold inquiry into 'fake' and expired food
The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) will hold a two-day inquiry into the alleged sale of “fake” or expired food at foreign-owned shops....
Supply chain problems led to 'hostage' situation at KZN Health
The “business forum” that burst into a meeting of high-level KwaZulu-Natal Health officials last week took issue with the provincial department’s supply chain management...
Funding shortages see hospices closing across SA
Hlengiwe Dikeledi’s footsteps echo as she leaves the empty 16-bed unit, which closed its doors in July 2017. Bhekisisa reports that she is the...
Deadline extended for final report on the health market inquiry
A final report on the Competition Commission’s private healthcare market inquiry will have been released "by 30 November", according to a notice in the...
UK's NHS won't pay for new multiple sclerosis drug
The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) will not pay for patients with a degenerative form of multiple sclerosis to receive a new drug which...
FDA grants breakthrough therapy designation to severe asthma medication
Amgen and AstraZeneca have announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted breakthrough therapy designation for tezepelumab in patients with severe...
One in seven UK operations cancelled at the last minute
One in seven National Health Service (NHS) hospital operations are being cancelled just before they are due to take place, often because of a...
First ladies in Africa join with China's to fight HIV
First ladies from across Africa and the first lady of China, Peng Liyuan, have re-affirmed their commitment to a future free from Aids by...
UK reports first case of monkeypox, probably from Nigeria
Monkeypox has been diagnosed in the UK for the first time, reports BBC News. Public Health England (PHE) said the patient was a resident...
Motsoaledi sceptical of claims about 'fake food' at foreign-owned spazas
The national Health Department has announced that it is taking steps to verify claims that “fake” food is being sold at foreign-owned spaza shops...
Concern voiced over Health Ombud's treatment of whistleblower
On 23 August 2018, Health Ombudsman Professor Malegapuru Makgoba released his report on an investigation into allegations of patient mismanagement and patient rights violations...
Gauteng Health appoints new CEO at Bara after protests
Dr Richard Lebethe has been appointed as the new acting CEO of Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital following protests at the facility by health unions....
NHS green light to bronchial thermoplasty for asthma patients
The UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) draft guidance published on 31 August says a potentially life changing treatment for some...
FDA fast tracks Epinephrine nasal spray for anaphylaxis
Insys Therapeutics has announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Fast Track designation to their investigational Epinephrine Nasal Spray, a...
FDA warns of serious genital infection link with diabetes drug
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned that a serious genital infection has been reported in patients taking a certain class of...
UK set to ban sale of energy drinks to children
The UK government is set to ban the sale of Red Bull, Monster Energy and other energy drinks to children amid growing concern about...
NIH awards grant to novel online HIV prevention programme
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded an $8.8m grant to Keep It Up!, a novel online HIV prevention programme that has been...
Merck announces FDA approval of two of its HIV oral drugs
Merck & Co Inc has announced that the US Food and Drug Administration has approved two of its HIV oral drugs, nearly two months...
Adcock Ingram seeks to reduce exposure to healthcare regulation
Pharmaceutical company Adcock Ingram has set its sights on potential acquisitions in the personal care and baby care segments in a move to reduce...
Slow growth at day hospitals hobbles Advanced Health's plans
Advanced Health has shelved plans to bring in an empowerment partner – at least until it breaks even, the day surgery group’s CEO, Carl...
SA's listeria outbreak declared officially over
The world's deadliest listeria outbreak is over. The Times reports that this is according to Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi, who said that it is...
EC Health to spend R10m on mental healthcare following Ombud's report
Eastern Cape Health MEC, Helen Sauls-August, has made R10m available to "improve mental healthcare" in the province. "The plan includes the recruitment of three...
Charlotte Maxeke Hospital referring surgical patients to reduce waiting times
The Charlotte Maxeke Hospital in Johannesburg is starting to refer patients to other hospitals for operations. “The Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic hospital (CMJAH) is...
Doctor hospitalised with Ebola in DRC
A doctor in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has been hospitalised with Ebola, and 97 of his contacts have been identified in an area...
UK to allow women to take abortion pill at home
Women seeking to end early pregnancies in England soon will be allowed to take an abortion pill at home under a new government plan...
British Heart Foundation predicts 29% rise in heart attacks and strokes linked to diabetes
The number of heart attacks and strokes in England will soar in the next two decades as the diabetes epidemic sweeping the country takes...
WHO releases latest edition of its Mental Health Atlas
The Mental Health Atlas 2017 acquires new importance as it is providing information and data on the progress towards the achievement of objectives and...
Klebsiella pneumonia outbreak in Vosloorus hospital
Gauteng Health has confirmed a Klebsiella pneumonia outbreak at the Thelle Mogoerane Regional Hospital in Vosloorus, on the East Rand. News24 reports that this follows...
Half of England's maternity units closed at least once in 2017
Nearly half of England’s maternity units closed to new mothers at least once in 2017, shocking new figures have shown. A Freedom of Information...
Gauteng Health legal unit spends R94m on private lawyers
Gauteng Health spent R94m on private legal firms in the past year because its own legal unit could not cope. The Citizen reports that...
FDA approves Bristol-Myers Squibb lung cancer treatment
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co has announced that the US Food and Drug Administration approved its treatment, Opdivo, for patients whose lung cancer had progressed even...
Soaring UK obesity rate boosts paediatric diabetes by 41%
The number of children in the UK with diabetes largely caused by obesity has soared 41% in just three years, figures show. The Independent...
Surgery partnership programme to rectify botched circumcisions
Eight years of “a lot, a lot of pains” behind him, Nelson Gentsana is happy. “I can pee like any other man now,” the...
Militia violence hampers DRC's fight against Ebola as death toll hits 47
Militia violence in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has prevented aid workers from reaching some potential cases in an outbreak of Ebola that has...
FDA officially approves 'misleading' birth control app
A birth control app that was previously investigated for its “misleading” claims over its accuracy has now been officially approved by the US Food...
UK's NHS took years to phase out killer sub-standard syringe pumps
At least nine people died in the UK because the National Health Service (NHS) used syringe pumps that did not meet internationally approved safety...