Frustration and confusion following North West hospital closure

Frustration and confusion following North West hospital closure

The sudden closure of Thusong District Hospital in the North West has left healthcare workers and patients confused and frustrated with some patients still turning up at the hospital gates, not knowing where to go for medication and other healthcare services. Nthusang Lefafa reports.

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Free State pushing to get TB patients back into care

Free State pushing to get TB patients back into care

As was the case in the rest of the country, the COVID-19 pandemic dealt a severe blow to the tuberculosis (TB) response in the Free State. Refilwe Mochoari gathered the available numbers and asked the province’s health department about their plans to get the TB response back on track.

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In-depth: Top 10 health issues to watch in 2022

In-depth: Top 10 health issues to watch in 2022

COVID-19 will continue to dominate headlines in 2022, but from National Health Insurance to the availability of a new HIV prevention injection, it will also be an important year for other areas of health service delivery and for health system governance and reforms. Here is Spotlight’s pick of the top ten issues to keep an eye on.

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Questions over implementation of SA’s new infection control plan

Questions over implementation of SA’s new infection control plan

Whether it is in the queue outside a community healthcare clinic, in a GP’s waiting room, or in the ICU at a private sector hospital, infections acquired at healthcare facilities pose a threat to people’s health. Nthusang Lefafa looks at government’s recently relaunched infection prevention and control plans and some obstacles to its implementation.

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Health in 2021: Another tumultuous year in under a thousand words

Health in 2021: Another tumultuous year in under a thousand words

It wasn’t rocket science when we predicted at the start of 2021 that South Africa’s biggest challenge this year would be to get COVID-19 shots into as many arms as possible. But the way it has played out with multiple setbacks and scrambling problem-solving is not something anyone could have predicted. In fewer than a thousand words, Spotlight editor Marcus Low takes a look back at a tumultuous year in health in South Africa.

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What is government doing to restore TB services?

What is government doing to restore TB services?

The COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns have dealt a severe blow to South Africa’s tuberculosis (TB) response. Tiyese Jeranji asked government about its plans to get TB diagnosis, treatment, and prevention services back on track.

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Analysis: Will red tape hold back mix-and-match vaccine boosting in SA?

Analysis: Will red tape hold back mix-and-match vaccine boosting in SA?

Unlike regulators in the United States and Europe, the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority has not yet given the green light for any form of mix-and-match COVID-19 vaccine boosting. We take a look at the regulatory issues standing in the way of people in South Africa who received the Johnson & Johnson jab being offered Pfizer boosters.

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IN PICTURES: Two decades of HIV  in South Africa

IN PICTURES: Two decades of HIV in South Africa

We reflect in pictures South Africa’s journey in the struggle against HIV since 2000.

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In-depth: What contraceptives are available in SA and which ones are most popular?

In-depth: What contraceptives are available in SA and which ones are most popular?

There are a variety of tools available today to prevent pregnancy including pills, intrauterine devices, subdermal implants, injections, condoms, male and female sterilisation, and emergency contraception. Statistics suggest that people in South Africa do, in principle at least, have access to and are aware of these contraceptive methods, albeit not at the desired levels. Elna Schütz looks at what contraceptive methods are available and makes some surprising discoveries along the way about which ones are most popular.

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In-Depth: Hypertension – South Africa’s “silent killer”

In-Depth: Hypertension – South Africa’s “silent killer”

It is estimated that around 45% of men and 48% of women older than 15 years have high blood pressure (hypertension) in South Africa and only about 19% of men and 29% of women who have this condition are aware that they have it. Elri Voigt unpacks the state of hypertension in the country and how it is diagnosed and treated.

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Concerns over rise in acute psychiatric admissions in Western Cape

Concerns over rise in acute psychiatric admissions in Western Cape

There has been an increase in the number of acute psychiatric admissions in the Western Cape since June, adding to the existing pressure on bed capacity in the province’s hospitals. Tiyese Jeranji unpacks the numbers and the provincial health department’s plans to address them.

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Opinion: We should make it much easier for people to start and stay on HIV treatment

Opinion: We should make it much easier for people to start and stay on HIV treatment

The top priority in our HIV programme should be to make it as easy as possible for people to start and stay on treatment. Yet, as a number of provincial reports released this year by community monitoring group Ritshidze have shown, there are many healthcare system factors that work directly against this objective. Spotlight editor Marcus Low considers some of the potential solutions.

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