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Calls mount to act against senior Northern Cape health officials implicated in alleged PPE corruption

Calls mount to act against senior Northern Cape health officials implicated in alleged PPE corruption

By Refilwe Mochoari,
Posted in: Healthcare system, Latest, Northern Cape, Provinces

The head of health in the Northern Cape – Dr Dion Theys – appeared in the Kimberly Magistrate’s Court on Monday. Theys who was appointed as permanent head of health in July this year, along with two co-accused were released on bail of R5 000 each. This was Theys’ second brush with the law – albeit in different courts – in just over a month after his appointment. Despite these developments and an outcry among some health stakeholders, the Northern Cape health department has not yet taken decisive action against Theys. Refilwe Mochoari reports.

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OPINION: We are short-changing women with budget cuts, corruption, and underspending in health

OPINION: We are short-changing women with budget cuts, corruption, and underspending in health

By Matshidiso Lencoasa,
Posted in: Healthcare system, Healthcare Workers, Latest, Reproductive Health

Though budget cuts impact the health system’s ability to provide quality services to the 85% of people in South Africa estimated to rely on public healthcare, women are doubly burdened by these cuts owing to their unequal reliance on public health services. Women have a disproportionate risk and prevalence of HIV/AIDS and more differentiated health needs, including those for reproductive and maternal health. This Women’s Month is an opportune moment to reflect on how much we spend on healthcare and the quality of that spending which can be powerful measures to help create a public healthcare system that narrows the gender gap, writes Matshidiso Lencoasa.

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The good doctor: Mark Blaylock on finding meaning back at Manguzi

The good doctor: Mark Blaylock on finding meaning back at Manguzi

By Sue Segar,
Posted in: Healthcare system, Healthcare Workers, Latest, Provinces

In December 2008, Dr Mark Blaylock left South Africa after a high-profile spat with then-Health MEC of KwaZulu-Natal Peggy Nkonyeni. The affair was sparked by Blaylock’s colleague Colin Pfaff being charged with misconduct for sourcing funding for antiretroviral drugs for pregnant women living with HIV. Four years later, Blaylock was back at Manguzi District Hospital in KwaZulu-Natal. Sue Segar chatted to Blaylock about his years outside of South Africa, returning to Manguzi, and how healthcare in KwaZulu-Natal has changed over the years.

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Surgeries delayed at Charlotte Maxeke as key machine decommissioned before replacements are ready

Surgeries delayed at Charlotte Maxeke as key machine decommissioned before replacements are ready

By Ufrieda Ho,
Posted in: Gauteng, Healthcare system, Healthcare Workers, Latest, Provinces

Staff say patients at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital in need of vascular surgery face a three-month wait for life-saving surgery because of what some staff are calling “fishy” operational management and bad planning. According to hospital management, however, patients will be diverted to other hospitals during this period. Ufrieda Ho reports.

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Analysis: Incentives seem to work in private healthcare, why not in public?

Analysis: Incentives seem to work in private healthcare, why not in public?

By Amy Green,
Posted in: Healthcare system, Latest, NHI

Doing ‘the right thing’ for one’s health, be it eating well, exercising, or going for an annual HIV test or blood pressure check, is easier said than done. One way to nudge people to make these ‘right’ decisions is to offer rewards or incentives. Amy Green asks whether aspects of some popular private-sector incentive schemes might be worth copying in South Africa’s public sector.

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Women in health: “No one taught me how to treat a sick system,” says leading young Professor

Women in health: “No one taught me how to treat a sick system,” says leading young Professor

By Biénne Huisman,
Posted in: Healthcare system, Healthcare Workers, Latest, Provinces, Western Cape

In high school, a guidance councillor told Salome Maswime that she would never be accepted at medical school. Today, she is a professor and head of Global Surgery at the University of Cape Town. Biénne Huisman chatted to Maswime about her work on safe surgery, her remarkable career, and being the only black woman in the room.

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Analysis: What climate change might mean for malaria in SA

Analysis: What climate change might mean for malaria in SA

By Adele Baleta,
Posted in: Healthcare system, Latest

Malaria-carrying mosquitoes will, and are already moving to new habitats as the earth warms up due to climate change. Adele Baleta asked several local experts what the changing climate might mean for malaria in South Africa and efforts to eliminate the parasitic disease.

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Analysis: SA’s new mental health plan and the problem of stigma

Analysis: SA’s new mental health plan and the problem of stigma

By Nthusang Lefafa,
Posted in: Healthcare system, Healthcare Workers, Latest, Mental Health

Mental illnesses and the labels that go with these illnesses are often associated with stigma, which in turn influences health-seeking behaviour and adherence to treatment. Nthusang Lefafa looks at how South Africa’s National Mental Health Policy Framework and Strategic Plan 2023 – 2030 addresses stigma and asked some experts for their views.

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There are paths to quality universal healthcare besides NHI

There are paths to quality universal healthcare besides NHI

By Marcus Low,
Posted in: Healthcare system, Latest, NHI, Opinions

One of the most damaging aspects of our public discourse on National Health Insurance is the mistaken notion in some quarters that the only two options are NHI and the status quo, argues Marcus Low.

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Mixed responses to Gauteng Health’s latest security plans

Mixed responses to Gauteng Health’s latest security plans

By Thabo Molelekwa,
Posted in: Healthcare system, Latest

Following reports of healthcare workers who have been robbed, assaulted, or killed in public healthcare facilities in Gauteng, the province’s health department announced that healthcare workers will now be trained to handle patients who become violent. Thabo Molelekwa looked at what these safety plans entail and asked health worker organisations for their views.

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Feature: The complexities of traditional and medical circumcision in the Eastern Cape

Feature: The complexities of traditional and medical circumcision in the Eastern Cape

By Siyabonga Kamnqa,
Posted in: Healthcare system, Healthcare Workers, HIV, Latest, Men's Health

While most male circumcisions performed in the Eastern Cape are done in the traditional manner, there are also significant numbers of medical male circumcisions being conducted. Siyabonga Kamnqa reports on this year’s winter initiation season in the province and the complex interplay between culture, safety, and protection against HIV involved in deciding between the two types of circumcision.

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Statin lowers cardio risk in people living with HIV, large study finds

Statin lowers cardio risk in people living with HIV, large study finds

By Elri Voigt,
Posted in: Healthcare system, HIV, Latest

Study findings presented this week at a major HIV conference show that taking a statin every day substantially reduces the chances of suffering a major adverse cardiovascular event in people living with HIV who have a low-to-moderate risk of cardiovascular disease. The findings were also published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Elri Voigt unpacks the study findings and asks what it might mean for people in South Africa.

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