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Weekly Roundup
Zimbabwe's doctors and nurses set to resume work
Striking doctors and nurses are set to resume work after the Zimbabwean government agreed to address some of their concerns.
The Herald reports that a...
Exemptions to SA sugar tax could 'save many jobs'
The SA Treasury said there could be fewer than the initially estimated 5,000 job losses after the sugar tax has been introduced, because of...
Generic prescribing could save SA economy R4bn annually
Despite the fact that the use of generic medicine has increased over time, many healthcare practitioners in South Africa continue to prescribe expensive brand-name...
UK woman dies after heart valve put in upside down
A woman in the UK has died after a heart valve was put in upside down during surgery.
The Independent reports that Sheila Hynes suffered...
Soapie star leads successful circumcision campaign
South African men have responded well to the circumcision challenge by popular soapie star and Brothers for Life ambassador Kagiso Modupe but he says they’re...
Mthatha’s academic hospital hires 'super specialists'
The Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital in Mthatha has managed to hire seven new “super specialists” – doctors specialising in more than one field –...
Africa's $100m Global Hope project to save paediatric cancer lives
A $100m initiative has been launched to create an innovated paediatric haematology-oncology treatment network in southern and east Africa, mobilising public-private partnerships with the...
EU warning on superbug threat to public and animal health
Superbug bacteria found in people, animals and food across the EU pose an 'alarming' threat to public and animal health having evolved to resist...
Brexit may see exit of European-trained doctors from UK
About 12,000 doctors trained in European countries could quit the UK because they feel less welcome following the Brexit vote found a British Medical...
Legislation 'could have stopped Esidimeni in its tracks'
Legislation intended to improve the government’s capacity to identify disease outbreaks and health emergencies is due to go before the Cabinet, Health Minister Aaron...
NHS doctors banned from 'rip-off' moonlighting
The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) doctors have been banned from earning lucrative agency rates while moonlighting at other hospitals after it emerged five...
Increase in Gauteng abortions
The year 2016 has seen a 'slight increase' from 15‚352 to 16‚736 in the number of legal abortions performed in Gauteng public hospitals and...
Denosa and Nehawu march for better working conditions
Thousands of nurses from the Democratic Nursing Organisation of SA (Denosa) marched with National Education Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) members to hand...
National HIV survey could be compromised by access
The national HIV survey has the potential to be compromised by suburban residents who refuse field-workers access to gated communities.
This is according to Professor...
Cosatu wants more research into sugar tax job losses
Cosatu and industry want more time and more research before the introduction of the tax on sugary drinks – proposed to start on 1...
Nigerian doctors reduced to surgery by candlelight
Some doctors in Nigeria use candlelight to perform operations due to the dearth of funding for the sector, a medical practitioner told a Senate...
Brexit could end UK access to life-saving clinical trials
More than 600,000 UK patients a year could be denied access to potentially life-saving clinical trials after Brexit, medical research organisations have warned in...
Locum doctors warn of Durban hospital's woes
Long-time locum doctors at Durban's Mahatma Gandhi Hospital are spitting mad at a KZN Health's decision to employ them on a month-to-month basis.
They warn...
Pharma execs anxious about Trump's deregulation
US President Donald Trump's vow to roll back government regulations at least 75% is causing anxiety for some pharmaceutical executives that a less robust...
64-year-old Spanish women gives birth to twins
A 64-year-old woman has given birth to healthy twins after her second successful pregnancy at an advanced age, a doctor in northern Spain has...
Attacks on paramedics increasing in KZN, WC, Gauteng and FS
Health worker unionists are struggling to understand why communities are attacking ambulance workers trying to save lives, with attacks increasing in in KwaZulu-Natal‚ the...
Effectiveness of Africa's CDC will hinge on funding – experts
For the Africa Centres for Disease Control to work will require long-term political will and financial commitment by national governments, as well as strong...
MRC to probe Prof accused of trying to discredit Noakes
The SA Medical Research Council is to probe a senior employee accused of teaming up with ‘Big Sugar’ to discredit Banting-diet champion Professor Tim...
Death toll from Life Esidimeni transfers now above 100
Health Ombudsman Professor Malegapuru Makgoba says the death toll of mentally ill patients who were transferred from Life Esidimeni to 27 NGOs will continue...
Gauteng's entire health care system must be reviewed – SASOP
The SA Society of Psychiatrists (Sasop) has called for an urgent review and overhaul of Gauteng’s entire health care system, reports News24. “The current...
Scores of WC paramedics suffer PTSD after attacks
At any time, about 50 Western Cape Health paramedics are booked off sick for post-traumatic stress disorder brought on by attacks and robberies upon ambulances.
Health...
SAPS general and ANC councillor linked to deadly NGO transfers
An SA Police Service general and an ANC councillor used an NGO for domestic violence they were involved with to take mentally ill patients...
SA cancer patient turns to crowdfunding to finance treatment
SA cancer patient Walter Pike expects he will live for just three more years if medical aid scheme FedHealth continues to refuse to pay...
Chinese hospital staff punished over infection negligence
Staff at two Chinese hospitals have been punished after their failure to follow proper medical procedures caused 14 patients to be infected with HIV...
SANC threatens Denosa over 'malicious and callous' statements
The SA Nursing Council has threatened to take legal action against the Democratic Nursing Organisation of SA for what it calls 'malicious and callous'...
Previously 'most respected' Limpopo hospital in decline
Ongoing complaints of shocking conditions at Elim Hospital in Limpopo have gone unresolved, and now an 83-year-old patient has died of third-degree burns after...
SA oncologists exit SA's broken public health system
With an increasing number of oncologists leaving the public health sector, thousands of SA patients are being kept waiting for treatment, reports the Weekend...
EMS staff to have police escorts in 'red zones'
The Western Cape Health Department has barred all emergency medical service (EMS) personnel from entering certain areas without a police escort. News24 reports that...
African leaders seeking medical help abroad is 'on the rise'
The phenomenon of African leaders leaving their country to seek medical help from other countries appears to be on the rise, reports SABC News....
Africa's benefits from Global Fund programmes
Three African countries accounted for 77% of the 787,000 additional people put on ART programmes supported by the Global Fund in the first half...
Ambulance driver critical after crash into a hippo
An ambulance driver is in a critical condition after crashing into a hippopotamus crossing the road outside Pretoria ,reports The Times.
Life 24 Ambulance service...
FDA expands use of Opdivo to include urothelial carcinoma
The US Food and Drug Administration has expanded the use of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co's Opdivo to include treatment of urothelial carcinoma, the most common...
SA students prefer to self-test for HIV
South African students, who make up one of the highest sexually active groups in society, would rather self-test at home for HIV than go...
Disaster medicine researcher sentenced to death in Iran
A researcher studying disaster medicine at two European institutes has been sentenced to death in Iran, apparently for security-related offences.
Science Mag reports that Iranian-born...
SA's radical plan to tackle HIV in sex workers
A three-year SA initiative promises to reach 70,000 sex workers through 1,000 peer educators, reports Al Jazeera.
In the shadow of an underpass, wearing a black...