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Mpox now declared a global emergency
The World Health Organisation (WHO) yesterday declared the mpox outbreaks in Congo and elsewhere in Africa a global emergency as health authorities sound the...
Relief as Rolene Wagner returns to hot seat
Former head of the Eastern Cape Department of Health Dr Rolene Wagner returned to the position this week after intervention from the Office of...
Certificate of need ruling not linked to NHI – Minister
The scathing judgment by the High Court declaring sections of the National Health Act unconstitutional, was not related to the NHI and attempts to...
HIV-prevention jab roll-out a game-changer for SA
South Africa's HIV infection rates could be slashed significantly when the twice-a-month HIV vaccine, among new treatments offering hope in reducing the massive global...
Health bosses guilty of Life Esidimeni deaths
The blame for some of the deaths in the Life Esidimeni tragedy – one of the worst human rights infringements in democratic South Africa...
BMJ study on link between excess deaths and Covid jab raises questions
A large study in 47 Western nations, published in BMJ Public Health, suggests that the “unprecedented” flood of nearly 3m pandemic-era excess deaths internationally...
Medical community at a crossroads on child gender-affirming care
The release of a major review of gender identity services for children has sparked debate about the best approach to providing care for young...
Ramaphosa signs NHI Bill, but long road ahead still
The National Health Insurance Bill is now law, with President Cyril Ramaphosa yesterday signing the highly-contested sted legislation five years after it was first...
Ministers deliberately ‘demonise’ medical schemes, claims BHF research
Research presented at the annual Board of Healthcare Funders conference this week, including allegations that various Health Ministers have deliberately promoted false claims about...
Can Big Pharma justify hefty drug prices?
Big Pharma's hefty price tags for some medicines have again come under scrutiny, with a drug developed by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) costing a...
Bold promises in SA as world experts urge momentum for UHC
The Gauteng Premier sparked a storm of criticism on the election trail this week with his 'unrealistic' promises about universal healthcare (UHC), which despite...
Children used as guinea pigs in UK's tainted blood scandal
The National Health Service in the UK is facing a major criminal and ethical scandal as the true scale of the number of medical...
Dentist pleads not guilty to patient’s murder in ‘detox’ clinic
The trial of a Durban dentist, charged with murder after a patient died in his detox centre seven years ago, started in the High...
SA and J&J drawn into toxic cough mixture scandal
South Africa and J&J has become entangled in one of the world's worst wave of poisoning from oral medication with the recall of a...
Alarm as syphilis rates rise worldwide, including in SA
One of the oldest diseases in the world, syphilis is making an alarming comeback, with leading scientists describing it as a public health crisis...
Half of SA’s forensic pathology units fail competency tests
Nearly half of the country’s forensic pathology units have failed to achieve competency certification – with just three out of 16 in the Eastern...
SAMA gets tough after Cape Western branch ‘revolt’
The South African Medical Association (SAMA) has suspended all 13 members of its Cape Western branch council for three years for ‘open revolt’ and...
Cancer diagnoses among younger people rising
Worldwide, cancer diagnoses are growing more common among people under 50, and it’s been estimated that by 2030, the number of these early-onset cancer...
Communities mourn murdered medics
The medical fraternity has been hit with more tragedy with the unrelated murders of two healthcare workers this week; a Hilton, KwaZulu-Natal paediatrician, Dr...
CMS seeks to place Netcare scheme under curatorship
In yet another clash with the healthcare industry, and following recent accusations of hostility and harassment, the Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) has applied...
‘Trial by media’, murder accused paediatrician claims in court
Five years after he was arrested, renowned paediatric surgeon Peter Beale took the stand in the Gauteng High Court (Johannesburg) to answer to the...
Neurological conditions now the number one cause of disease globally
Neurological conditions are now the leading cause of ill health and disability worldwide, surpassing cardiovascular disease and leading to a call for a change...
Top court to decide on medical aid information disclosures
In a case that will have groundbreaking implications for medical schemes and its members, the Constitutional Court will today deliberate on the extent of...
Regulator abusing power and hostile towards medical schemes – BHF
In an unprecedented move, the Board of Healthcare Funders (BHF) has sent a legal letter to the Council for Medical Schemes and the Health...
SA scientists warn of HIV-like obesity epidemic
With obesity rates rising at an alarming rate, according to a new World Health Organisation (WHO) study, South African researchers say the problem in...
Gauteng plan to review doctors' overtime pay policy a 'disaster'
The decision by the Gauteng Department of Health to “review” the policy of overtime for doctors – a requirement of the job to ensure...
More money to hire doctors but health sector still under pressure
The good news is that National Treasury has made good on Health Minister Joe Phaahla’s promise that the government would find the money to...
Leading SA medical experts back euthanasia court challenge
Respected South African medical experts, including professors, oncologists, ethicists and anaesthesiologists, have thrown their weight behind a pending court challenge to legalise assisted suicide,...
About-turn as Phaahla says jobless doctors will be hired – by April
In a complete turnaround, and in contrast to previous statements and declarations by the National Department of Health that it has no money, on...
Judgment reserved in first NHI challenge
Government often gets criticised for a lack of planning, but is now under fire for doing planning, counsel for the government argued in the...
Doctors without jobs as health purse tightens
With the number of unemployed recently qualified doctors standing at almost 700, Health Minister Joe Phaahla this week said provinces are unable to afford...
First NHI legal challenge kicks off today as Ramaphosa prepares to sign Bill
With President Cyril Ramaphosa poised to sign the contentious National Health Insurance Bill into law before the upcoming May elections, the first of several...
Beale ignored advice not to operate on children, state claims
As the murder and fraud trial of Dr Peter Beale got underway this week, with the first state witness taking the stand, the prosecution...
Scientists hail breakthrough cancer treatments
In what are seen as giant steps in cancer treatment, experts have hailed an inexpensive blood test which could help diagnose even inaccessible brain...
SAMA urges law reform as paediatrician now faces murder charges
The South African Medical Association (SAMA) has again called for law reform after the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) changed the charges against paediatric surgeon...
Big Pharma under pressure over drugs shortages and high costs
Amid a global shortage of key drugs, Big Pharma is coming under pressure in the US where the CEOs of two major firms have...
World leaders prepare for future ‘Disease X’ pandemic
Covid-19 may have settled into a new normal, with even the latest resurgence in cases with a dominant new strain showing no cause for...
Dismal scores for SA public health in global citizens survey
Only about one-third of South Africans have confidence in the overall health system, including primary public services such as mental health, maternity and paediatrics,...
Government stands firm against avalanche of NHI backlash
While legal challenges are being lined up against the National Health Insurance Bill – which last week passed through the final parliamentary steps –...
NHI now closer to becoming law after passing NCOP hurdle
South Africa is one step closer to implementing the National Health Insurance (NHI) system, after the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) voted in favour...