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Wednesday, 18 March, 2026

FOCUS: OBSTETRICS

Obstetric violence rampant in KZN, Gauteng, survey finds

Venilla Yoganathan - 0
Pregnant women in South Africa – specifically in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal – are subjected to alarming levels of obstetric violence during their pregnancies, childbirth and postpartum care, with at least 60% experiencing some form of mistreatment. The results of a survey over the past 10 years found that six out of 10 women giving birth in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal have experienced obstetric violence, but researchers say this is just the tip of the iceberg as the problem extends right across...
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NEWS UPDATE

National Health Lab Service IT system down – again

The National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS), which provides laboratory services to every single public sector health provider countrywide, reported a major disruption to its information system, TrakCare, on Monday evening – creating an immediate crisis like the one two years ago, when a cyber attack brought the entire system to a grinding and chaotic halt and resulted in patient deaths. Daily Maverick reports that rather oddly, and despite bitter experience, the NHLS – the sole provider of diagnostic pathology services to more than 80% of South Africa’s population, with more than 300 laboratories across the country – has no emergency UPS or uninterruptible...

Bonitas-Medscheme row threatens jobs – Sanlam CEO

At least 5 000 jobs are at risk as the legal saga between Medscheme and Bonitas Medical Fund – which stripped it of long-term contracts – continues, according to Paul Hanratty, CEO of Sanlam, which owns Medscheme via its almost 60% stake in its subsidiary, AfroCentric – which owns the medical aid administrator. News24 reports that although Hanratty said the wrangle between Medscheme and Bonitas was just an “irritation” in terms of Sanlam’s financials, the human impact could be far larger, given the roughly 5 000 people employed across AfroCentric and the medical aid administrator. “In financial terms, it’s not that...

Ramaphosa says NHI still a realistic goal

Despite the many legal challenges impeding its proclamation, implementation of the National Health Act will proceed as planned, according to President Cyril Ramaphosa last week in the National Assembly. IOL reports that the President’s comments came in a question and answer session, during which EFF leader Julius Malema queried the government’s commitment to the NHI and the steps taken to ensure the health system was prepared for its rollout. Ramaphosa said legal challenges, to be heard in May, will not disrupt the timeline for implementation or stop ongoing preparatory work by the Department of Health. “This undertaking, which has been made an...

Activists back in court over Dudula bullying of migrants

Three organisations have taken the Gauteng Department of Health back to court to enforce a court order, saying Operation Dudula thugs are still barring foreign nationals from two Johannesburg clinics, reports News24. The Treatment Action Campaign, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), and Kopanang Africa Against Xenophobia said the xenophobic group was still barring migrants, pregnant women, and children from obtaining healthcare at the Yeoville and Rosettenville clinics, despite Judge Stuart Wilson ordering authorities to stop the harassment months ago. Wilson had ordered the Health Department and the City of Johannesburg to restore safe, unhindered access to the clinics immediately, to remove any...

Guaranteed orders vital for anti-HIV jab production – Aspen

The country’s largest generic manufacturer, Aspen Pharmacare, has warned that local drugmakers will need guaranteed demand to produce Gilead’s twice-year HIV prevention shot lenacapavir, reports Business Day. Aspen’s appeal for guaranteed orders stems partly from its bitter experience during the pandemic, when it invested in manufacturing Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine for Africa but received no orders. The government is currently in discussions with Gilead Sciences to identify local manufacturers who can produce lenacapavir under voluntary licence here – none of the six licences awarded by the patent holder to generic drugmakers in 2024 went to a South African firm. The expectation...

Limpopo team separates conjoined twins in complex surgery

Doctors in Limpopo made history after separating conjoined twin boys – born in January at Mankweng Hospital outside Polokwane – in a mammoth eight-hour surgical procedure on Tuesday, reports IOL. Initial assessments had indicated the boys were joined at the abdomen, and the separation surgery, led by Professor Nyaweleni Tshifularo, revealed that they also shared certain organs. Tshifularo said afterwards that successfully completing the highly complex procedure was “a great day for the province, the country and for my team, including the specialist nurses I work with”. “These were identical twins whose separation was incomplete during development. They were delivered here, and after assessing our...

Discovery uses AI prompts to expedite health checks, diagnoses

AI-driven health prompts to Discovery Life clients are boosting the numbers of preventative screenings while lowering their costs of cover, reports Business Day. The tool also accelerates detection of serious illness, including cancer, said Discovery Life, a subsidiary life insurer Discovery and which use incentives to encourage healthy behaviour through its Vitality programme. Discovery has invested in a global partnership with Google that uses AI to provide people with personalised recommendations to improve their health and lower the cost of cover. It encourages clients to sign up for its “personalised payback booster”, which rewards them for completing AI-driven recommendations through Discovery Health’s “personalised health...

Gauteng Health denies debt affects services at Tshwane hospital

The Gauteng Department of Health has denied that R33m in unpaid supplier debt is forcing providers to restrict services to Odi District Hospital, or that patient care is being compromised at the Tshwane facility, reports The Citizen. It said any such reports are “misleading”, and that “all services continue without interruption while patient care remains fully safeguarded”. This follows previous allegations by DA Gauteng spokesperson for Health and MPL Madeleine Hicklin that a massive debt of R33m owed to suppliers had become untenable for those keeping the hospital running. “Suppliers have begun cutting back on essential support after accumulating R33m in unpaid...

Eastern Cape Health boss faces HRC for department failures

The Human Rights Commission has ordered the beleaguered Eastern Cape Health Department to explain why it failed to address 27 public complaints – some dating back two years – which highlight the many stark crises and issues of the flailing department. The provincial accounting officer and seasoned healthcare administrator Dr Rolene Wagner appeared before the commission in East London this week, where she was given two weeks to respond to the HRC, reports News24. Wagner was subpoenaed as part of the commission’s ongoing investigation into “systemic failures” in healthcare service delivery across the province, and numerous complaints received by the Chapter...

Hospital must ask court to save teen’s life, says Minister

Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi plans to ask the Charlotte Maxeke Hospital to approach the courts to save the life of a critically-ill boy, who needs a liver transplant, but whose Jehovah’s Witness father is refusing to allow a blood transfusion. The Sowetan reports that Motsoaledi said the 15-year-old’s liver transplant cannot be done without a blood transfusion. “I am going to ask the hospital to go to court if it wants to save his life,” he said. The Mpumalanga teen is battling kidney and liver disease but his family has made it clear to doctors that they won’t allow a blood transfusion during the...

Inquiry judge orders review of ‘useless’ sick note

The ongoing Madlanga commission of inquiry into alleged police capture has raised issues about questionable, last-minute sick notes submitted by witnesses, saying it would refer the matter to the medical council and was considering summoning doctors to explain. Chair of the inquiry Judge Mbuyiseli Madlanga it was becoming a recurring issue for subpoenaed witness to submit last-hour sick notes, and that such behaviour affected the commission’s work. He said a doctor’s sick note submitted by North West businessman Brown Mogotsi on Monday was useless, as it stated only “medical condition” rather than a specific illness, reports the Sowetan. Mogotsi has been accused...

Department denies ex-Tembisa CFO was ‘paid to leave’

Gauteng Health has denied claims that corruption-accused former CFO Lerato Madyo was paid to leave her role and given a “golden handshake” as alleged by DA health spokesperson Jack Bloom this week. The Citizen reports that Bloom claimed Madyo was “given a very lucrative settlement and is currently living under another name in Limpopo”. The department had announced Madyo’s resignation in August 2024, but Bloom disputed the claim yesterday. “My information says that she is in Limpopo. We have the new name that she goes under, and she left with a golden handshake, with no record and in good standing,” he said. The...

‘Defamation’ smears led to patient refusing ambulance services, court hears

The ongoing legal battle between KZN Transport MEC Siboniso Duma and ALS Paramedics escalated yesterday (Wednesday) into accusations of perjury and claims that a patient had refused the private ambulance service because of Duma’s public statements, reports News24. In a supplementary affidavit filed in the KZN High Court (Pietermaritzburg), ALS Paramedics director Garrith Jamieson accused Duma of publicly branding him a liar and a criminal on a social media post – this in the wake of Judge Pieter Bezuidenhout recently refusing ALS’ urgent bid for immediate relief to interdict Duma from making any more defamatory statements. The judge had found Duma’s...

Menstrual products safe, confirm Motsoaledi, WHO, SAMRC

Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has added his reassurances to those of the government’s Social Protection, Community and Human Development cluster, which said this weekend that no feminine products were being recalled and that sanitary pads on South African shelves were safe to use, reports News24. The cluster, led by Motsoaledi, held a media briefing to clarify the implications of the recently published University of the Free State study that suggested locally available products contained chemicals that might disrupt hormonal processes. The study, conducted on 16 sanitary pads and seven panty liners, found small quantities of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) were present in...

Unions step up threats over GEMS increases

Union members of the Government Employees Medical Scheme (GEMS) have threatened to withdraw from the scheme – and are investigating legal action, as well as suggesting further protests – if the contributions increases are not withdrawn, reports Business Day. In response, GEMS is offering bilateral talks to defuse the rising tension. Cosatu, the Federation of Unions of South Africa (Fedusa) and the Public Servants Association (PSA) have said that despite state subsidies, the scheme’s recent premium hikes are more than double the pay increases awarded to civil servants. They have also accused the scheme of “not serving its purpose, but serving the...

SA leading the charge for made-in-Africa anti-HIV jab

South Africa’s National Aids Council (Sanac) has asked local drug companies to submit applications by 7 April to make generic versions of the anti-HIV jab that could end Aids by 2043 in the country – if 31m HIV-negative people take it for at least a year each between now and then, writes Bhekisisa’s Mia Malan, who explains just why success is so crucial for Africa. The original version of the six-monthly shot – lenacapavir, or LEN – produced by Gilead Sciences, is almost foolproof in stopping uninfected people from getting the virus, and was registered in South Africa in October. Locally-made...

Baby formula recalled in South Africa

The National Consumer Commission (NCC) has recalled baby formula produced by Nutricua Southern Africa, saying there is a possibility of toxin contamination within some batches, reports IOL. The recalls are for the 800g Nutricia Aptamil Nutribiotik 2 and the 800g Nutricia Aptajunior Nutribiotik 3, and NCC spokesperson Phetho Ntaba said the recall affects 2 989 units. “Nutricia SA has indicated that a raw material used in the production of the affected batches may carry traces of cereulide – a toxin that, at high levels of exposure, can cause symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and abdominal cramps,” Ntaba said. The expiry dates for...

Woman blames Eastern Cape hospital after open wound for 14 years

An Eastern Cape woman has spent 14 years in agony after an appendectomy left her with an open wound, which her family blames on the hospital’s alleged “negligence” and which it says has conveniently “lost” the file, reports eNCA. Twenty-two-year-old Benathi Mbuse said she had never healed from the 2011 surgery at Uitenhage Provincial Hospital, with the pain confining her to bed most days. Her family blames poor care at the facility, saying it has shattered her dreams. Her mother, Nomaxhosa Nkayitshana, said she has tried umpteen times to get help for her daughter, and then last year, they found that Mbuse’s...

Drastic action urged as child obesity set to soar to 220m by 2040

The World Obesity Federation (WOF) has said that without drastic action, half a billion children will be grossly overweight by 2040, calling on governments to urgently start creating healthier environments, reports The Guardian. The agency said that for the first time in history, more children globally are obese rather than underweight. Last year, worldwide, about 180m children were obese – 1.08m of those being South African, aged between five and 19 – but these latest figures from the WOF suggest that by 2040, about 227m of all five- to 19-year-olds will be obese and more than half a billion overweight. According to...

MEDICO-LEGAL

Durban mothers in IVF baby mix-up row

In a legal tussle likely to have lifelong implications on two families, a black couple from Ballito wants the courts to compel an Indian woman to allow a DNA test on her child, claiming he was born from their embryo that was given to her by mistake at a fertility clinic nine years ago, reports TimesLIVE. The Indian woman initially said the application was not in the best interests of the child, and tried to obtain a protection order against the Ballito couple, whom she accused of harassing and stalking her. The couple hired a private detective last year after a...

SOME RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS IN THE PAST WEEK

DIET

Vegetarians have lower risk of five cancers – large global study

A landmark study on the role of diet – using data from more than 1.8m people – has suggested that vegetarians have a substantially lower risk of five types...

ENDOCRINOLOGY

Under 7.32 hours' sleep ideal for glucose disposal – Chinese study

A cross-sectional study led by researchers from Nantong University in China and published in BMJ Open Diabetes Research & Care found that just under 7.32 hours of sleep was...

IMMUNOLOGY

Immune system’s role in non-healing diabetic wounds – Shanghai study

A recent scientific review by Chinese scientists has highlighted how disruptions in the timing and behaviour of immune cells may hold the key to understanding the widespread medical challenge...

NEUROLOGY

Scientists optimistic as first test of gene therapy for rare autism form starts

Two years ago, a small biotech start-up got permission to test a gene therapy for a rare and disabling form of autism. The plan: deliver a gene that’s vital...

ORTHOPAEDIC

Higher risk of osteoporosis and gout with GLP drugs – US study

A large analysis has suggested that popular weight loss drugs may carry an increased risk to bone health, and conditions like osteoporosis, reports NBC News – while a second...

PAEDIATRICS

Drug slashes Davet syndrome paediatric seizures by 90% – UK study

British scientists say an experimental drug is showing remarkable promise for children with Dravet syndrome – a severe and hard-to-treat genetic form of epilepsy – after clinical trials suggested...

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