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Tuesday, 16 September, 2025

FOCUS: NHI

Union takes fight against 'certificate of need' to top court

Venilla Yoganathan - 0
The controversial 'certificate of need' (CoN), which government says is essential to ensure the equitable distribution of healthcare but which opponents say infringe on the rights of doctors and healthcare workers, took centre-stage at the Constitutional Court this week. The top court reserved judgment on Tuesday in the case in which trade union Solidarity and the Board of Healthcare Funders want the court to confirm a Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) ruling in July 2024 that struck down the CoN provisions in...
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NEWS UPDATE

Lenacapavir to be rolled out via Pepfar to selected countries

The news that the US Government has made a pre-market commitment to purchase the twice-yearly highly effective injectible drug lenacapavir from Gilead Sciences for the President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (Pepfar) to distribute in eight to 12 high-burden HIV countries in 2026 has been welcomed by experts, including South Africans. Authorities say Pepfar “is seeking to meaningfully reduce the number of new HIV infections, especially in pregnant and breastfeeding mothers”, but have emphasised that no NGOs will be involved in the rollout within the chosen countries, and that all dealings will be with governments. The United States and the Global...

Aspen banks on Mounjaro as workers face the chop

Aspen Pharmacare, South Africa’s largest pharmaceutical company, is awaiting regulatory approval to roll out diabetic drug Mounjaro for weight loss, but the bad news is that some 900 jobs are at risk of being chopped because of the group's overall poor performance. The Citizen reports that the company’s financial results for the year ended 30 June 2025 show that the diabetic medication significantly contributed to the group’s performance, with sales reaching at least R100m. Despite this success, however, Aspen reported a loss of at least R1bn due to contract issues and billions in impairments. “Manufacturing performance and intangible asset impairments have been negatively affected by the...

Gauteng Health owes R5.1bn to suppliers

Thousands of businesses providing services to the Gauteng Department of Health are in a precarious position, with hundreds of jobs at risk after the department’s failure to pay invoices worth more than R5.1bn within the stipulated 30-day period in the first quarter of the 2025/2026 financial year, says the DA. In a statement, the party slammed its tardiness in settling debts, saying it was severely affecting businesses that provide services to the department and which are solely dependent on the 30-day payment of invoices to pay salaries, their suppliers, and keep their doors open. The department had paid out R1 621bn within...

SADAG SOS for financial aid

The South African Depression and Anxiety Group’s (SADAG) vital crisis helpline, which assists thousands of people struggling with mental health issues, needs R180 000 for its operational costs this month, and is pleading for help, its appeal coinciding with World Suicide Prevention Day this week (Wednesday). The NGO has been forced to launch a Back-a-Buddy online campaign to raise the money it needs for September, TimesLIVE reports. The mental health advocate has been providing free telephone counselling, among other services, to South Africans in distress for 31 years, its call centre – taking some 2 500 calls a day, one in three...

Groote Schuur appeals for R100m to open new centre

Groote Schuur Hospital, home to one of the busiest emergency centres in the Western Cape, desperately needs R100m in donations to help equip and make its brand new centre – planned to open in February – a reality, reports News24. The unit has outgrown its existing small space, and dated technology, and equipment that has long exceeded its lifespan, contribute to the conditions under which medical teams work. Doing procedures with cellphone torches and huddling around the only working computer in the trauma unit is par for the course for doctors, who hope that next year, the overcrowded rooms and antiquated...

Free State doctor, grandson charged with murder for farm shooting

Dr Koos Troskie (80), who with his teenaged grandson has been accused of killing and burying a man in a shallow grave in Kroonstad in the Free State, has told the media that he has killed before, and will kill again if he is attacked on his farm, reports SABC News. Police say they discovered the decomposed body of the unknown man on 20 August on a farm between Kroonstad and Welkom. It’s alleged that he was fatally shot and buried in the unmarked grave in July this year. Troskie says the latest incident is related to the attacks that have been...

Emergency services desperate as shortages cripple sector

South African lives are being lost – and thousands more put at risk – as the dire shortage of ambulances and paramedics continues to hobble Emergency Medical Services (EMS), which is now short of 2 221 ambulances, reports Daily Maverick. A horrific car crash, a major shootout, even a gas tanker explosion, are just some of the emergencies to which South Africa’s EMS members respond – often without enough ambulances or workers, adding additional pressure to the public health system, and a very real human cost to the public when an ambulance doesn’t respond timeously or is unable to respond. The...

Hard reality of Trump’s aid cuts in east Africa – 100 days later

Aid cuts in east Africa have resulted in some babies being born with HIV because mothers could not get medication, a rise in life-threatening infections, and at least one woman having an unwanted abortion, according to interviews with medical staff, patients and experts. A report by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) has listed dozens of examples of the impact of disruption to Pepfar, the US global health programme launched in 2003 and credited with saving millions of lives, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa. The Guardian reports that the document is based on interviews with 39 doctors, nurses, people living with HIV, service providers and other...

New tests for 55 000 UK diabetes patients after diagnostic error

At least 55 000 patients in England will be needing further blood tests after errors made by machines used to diagnose diabetes, a BBC investigation has discovered. Some patients have been wrongly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and even prescribed medication, like Metformin, that they don’t need – and there could be more people affected, according to NHS England. Metformin works by lowering blood sugar levels through improving how the body handles insulin. NHSE has confirmed 16 hospital trusts use the machines, made by Trinity Biotech, which have produced inaccurate test results. In a statement, Trinity Biotech said it was working closely with...

GLP-1 drugs now on WHO’s essential medicines list

GLP-1 drugs to treat diabetes as well as treatments for cystic fibrosis and cancer have been added to the World Health Organisation’s essential medicines list, in efforts to boost global access to the usually expensive medications. The Independent reports that the catalogue of 523 medicines for adults and 374 for children identifies drugs the WHO believes should be available in all functioning health systems. “Rather than letting price be a disqualifying factor, the committee views inclusion in the list as a potential catalyst for access,” said Dr Lorenzo Moja, head of the WHO secretariat overseeing the list. The expert committee added the active...

FDA approves J&J’s non-surgical bladder cancer treatment

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved Johnson & Johnson’s drug delivery system for a type of bladder cancer, offering a potential surgery-free option for patients. Reuters reports that the drug release system, branded as Inlexzo, was given the green light for patients with a type of high-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer who did not respond to treatment with Bacillus Calmette-Guerin therapy, the current standard-of-care, and who are ineligible for, or refuse to undergo, bladder removal surgery. The approval was based on data from a mid-stage study in which more than 82% of the patients who received Inlexzo showed no signs...

US pig kidney man ‘doing well’ as transplant trials due to start

A 54-year-old American is the latest to get an experimental pig kidney transplant, at a crucial point in the quest to prove if animals' organs really might save human lives. The New Hampshire man is faring well after his 14 June operation, doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital said. “I really wanted to contribute to the science of it,” the patient, Bill Stewart, an athletic trainer, told AP. That’s not the only milestone the Mass General team is marking: a pig kidney has kept another New Hampshire man, Tim Andrews, off dialysis for a record seven months and counting. Until now, the longest that a...

Former US Surgeon-General calls for sacking of Kennedy

Jerome Adams, who served as US Surgeon-General during President Donald Trump’s first administration, is calling for Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr to be fired as controversy continues to swirl over his handling of vaccine approvals, with even members of the Kennedy family calling for him to resign. When asked by CNN on Saturday if Trump should fire Kennedy, Adams said: “I absolutely believe he should, for the sake of the nation and the sake of his legacy.” Adams’ comments come after a contentious hearing last week where Kennedy was grilled by both Democrats and Republicans about his...

EU bans gel nail polish ingredient over fertility concerns

The European Union has banned a key ingredient in gel nail polish, with all 27 EU member states now being prohibited from using or selling the chemical trimethylbenzoyl diphenylphosphine oxide, or TPO, reports Sky News. This means any leftover nail products containing TPO can no longer be used in salons in those countries. After a small number of studies linking TPO exposure to long-term fertility issues in animals, EU officials decided to classify it as a CMR (carcinogen, mutagen, reprotoxic) under its classification, labelling and packaging regulations. The EU TPO ban is seen as a precautionary measure, as scientists have not yet...

US doctor arrested after text linked to child sex

A Michigan doctor has been arrested by the United States Marshals Service in the aftermath of a police investigation involving the solicitation of a sexual relationship with what he allegedly thought was a five-year-old girl, reports CBS News. Police said that an undercover detective had portrayed the mother of a young girl, and that the doctor had begun an online conversation with her “to see if she would allow her five-year-old to be courted by and have a sexual relationship with him”. A local Internet Crimes Against Children unit has been working with digital forensic experts to probe such crimes, and...

Minister has eye surgery at Bara clinic

Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi has successfully undergone an optical procedure at Baragwanath Hospital’s St John Eye Clinic, apparently after several months on the waiting list and in connection with ongoing visual problems that required surgical intervention, said the Department of Health. The facility is one of the country’s public eye clinics, providing treatment for various conditions, including retinal issues, glaucoma, and corneal problems. Motsoaledi has since urged South Africans to have regular eye tests to maintain eye health and for early detection of cataracts and glaucoma, which can lead to preventable loss of vision or blindness. Meanwhile, collaboration continues between the...

Stellenbosch University opens high-tech morphology centre

Africa’s largest and most advanced Medical Morphology Learning Centre (MMLC), which was opened at Stellenbosch University last month, will move beyond traditional teaching methods to create an immersive, interactive learning environment, said the institution. Located within SU’s Biomedical Research Institute at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (Tygerberg Campus), the MMLC blends cutting-edge technology with traditional anatomical resources, offering students access to human anatomy through multiple learning modalities. “With the MMLC, we’ve reimagined health sciences education, changing learning from a passive exercise into an interactive immersive journey,” said Professor Karin Baatjes, Vice-Dean: Learning and Teaching in the Faculty of Medicine...

Kenyan Health Ministry cracks down on rampant fraud

The Kenyan Ministry of Health is determined to clean up the healthcare system, recently handing over 1 188 case files and supporting evidence to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) for further investigation and prosecution, and marking a major milestone in the government’s efforts to protect public funds and uphold integrity. This follows an intensive forensic review and a comprehensive digital audit that led to the closure of 1 300 health facilities implicated in fraudulent or non-compliant practices. Offences uncovered include upcoding, falsification of records, conversion of outpatient services into inpatient claims, and phantom billing. To strengthen accountability, Health Cabinet Secretary Hon....

MEDICO-LEGAL

Sex offender doctor challenges HPCSA's life-time ban

The Health Professions Council of SA (HPCSA) has permanently barred a doctor from practising, calling him a “remorseless” sex offender and labelling him a danger to his patients, reports News24. For the second time in the past four years, Dr Gregory Hough (53), a former Port Elizabeth endocrinologist, was found guilty of sexual misconduct involving former patients. Now living in Pietermaritzburg, Hough, who has denied wrongdoing, said he has approached the courts in an urgent bid to suspend his barring while he challenges the outcome, saying otherwise he would be left destitute. In 2021, a professional conduct committee of the HPCSA found...

Health DG enters the legal fray over circumcision device

Director-General of Health Dr Sabelo Buthelezi has entered the legal argument over the award of a tender for a device to be used to circumcise boys between the ages of 10 to 14 in provincial health centres, writes Tania Broughton for GroundUp. While the department has not formally opposed the application brought by a losing bidder, Unicirc, Buthelezi has submitted what he calls an “explanatory affidavit” wherein he supports Treaury’s decision to award the tender to CircumQ. “It is going to save millions of people’s lives through the prevention of the spread of HIV/Aids,” he said. Unicirc claims the CircumQ device is untested...

US judge awards $1bn to family for botched birth

A Utah judge this month awarded nearly $1bn in damages to a family after a Salt Lake City hospital – six years ago – botched the delivery of their infant who suffered ‘horrific” injuries and now has lifelong disabilities. However, it’s uncertain whether Daniel McMichael, Anyssa Zancanella and their five-year-old daughter Azaylee will receive all of the $951m that Judge Patrick Corum ordered, Zancanella told Cowboy State Daily. That’s because $410m of that – ordered to compensate for pain and suffering – is capped off at a $450 000 statutory maximum for non-economic damages in Utah medical malpractice lawsuits, she said. That...

SOME RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS IN THE PAST WEEK

CARDIOLOGY

Cannabis doubles death, major heart event risk – meta-analysis

Cannabis use was associated with a significant twofold increased risk for major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs), including a doubling in the likelihood of death from these events, a meta-analysis...

New link flagged between women who have heart attacks – US study

After a 30-year study, American researchers have suggested that inflammation could be a key factor in explaining why some women experience heart attacks and strokes – despite having none of the usual...

CARDIOVASCULAR

Fathers’ role in foetal alcohol spectrum disorder – global study

Recent research by international scientists, including a team from Stellenbosch University, has shown that it’s not only mothers whose drinking habits can affect their babies’ development but that simultaneous...

ONCOLOGY

Experts unpack potential cancer risk of tattoo ink

Recent studies have connected tattoos and cancers, including skin cancers, lymphoma and leukaemia, and although the research is early, and many unknowns remain – and the reason for the...

PAEDIATRICS

Pre-schoolers given ADHD meds too soon – US analysis

Nearly half of all American pre-scholars with ADHD are prescribed medication too soon – within 30 days of diagnosis – according to a retrospective analysis by researchers at Stanford University. They...

PAIN MEDICINE

New painkiller could end opioid dependence – Japanese trials

Discovery of a new analgesic promises pain relief with fewer downsides, according to the scientists, who say the non-opioid ADRIANA could provide powerful relief without the dangers of addiction. With...

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