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Going viral: Dr Chivaugn Gordon on medical school with a difference

Going viral: Dr Chivaugn Gordon on medical school with a difference

By Biénne Huisman,
Posted in: Latest

With humour and wearing an occasional wig, Dr Chivaugn Gordon teaches medical students about serious women’s health issues. During South Africa’s COVID-19-related hard lockdown she delighted students at the University of Cape Town by making educational videos using household items as props. Biénne Huisman asked Gordon about her creative take on medical training, her love of teaching, and sensitising students about intimate partner violence.

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In-depth: How big a problem is TB in SA’s schools?

In-depth: How big a problem is TB in SA’s schools?

By Tiyese Jeranji,
Posted in: Latest

While there is limited data on tuberculosis (TB) in South Africa’s schools, a growing body of evidence suggests that there is indeed significant TB transmission taking place in the country’s often over-crowded classrooms. Tiyese Jeranji spoke to several local experts about what we do and do not know about the impact this age-old disease is having on our learners and their households.

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In-depth: A tale of two make-do clinics in the rural Eastern Cape

In-depth: A tale of two make-do clinics in the rural Eastern Cape

By Luvuyo Mehlwana,
Posted in: Eastern Cape, Latest, Provinces, Spotlight

The state of the Macacuma Clinic and the Ugie Clinic in the Eastern Cape came under the spotlight during the provincial legislature’s health committee visit from 10 to 14 October last year, when they visited several public health facilities in the Joe Gqabi District. Luvuyo Mehlwana recently went back to assess whether there has been any progress at the two facilities since the committee made its findings public.

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Over 4.7m people in SA placed on new HIV med in four years

Over 4.7m people in SA placed on new HIV med in four years

By Elri Voigt,
Posted in: HIV, Latest

In what is likely one of the largest treatment rollouts in South African history, well over four million people living with HIV have started taking the antiretroviral dolutegravir since its introduction around four years ago. Now, according to a recent study published in the Lancet medical journal, use of dolutegravir in South Africa is associated with more people staying on treatment and higher rates of viral suppression. Elri Voigt unpacks the study findings and assesses progress in the country’s switch to dolutegravir-based HIV treatment.

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In-depth: Breakthrough hepatitis C cures slowly becoming more widely available in South Africa

In-depth: Breakthrough hepatitis C cures slowly becoming more widely available in South Africa

By Catherine Tomlinson,
Posted in: Access to Medicines, Latest

Almost a decade after they were first proven to be safe and highly effective, game-changing medicines to cure hepatitis C are finally becoming more widely available in South Africa. But not all the regulatory and other challenges behind the delay have yet been overcome and, as a result, access remains relatively limited for now. Catherine Tomlinson reports.

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In-depth: Children are still dying of malnutrition in the Free State

In-depth: Children are still dying of malnutrition in the Free State

By Refilwe Mochoari,
Posted in: Child health, Free State, Healthcare system, Latest, Provinces

Even in 2023, infants under five years in the Free State are still dying from a lack of healthy food. From April to June this year, 21 children in the province died of severe acute malnutrition and one died of moderate acute malnutrition. Refilwe Mochoari unpacks the numbers and asks government about its plans to address what at least one expert is calling a ‘crisis’.

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ANALYSIS: Will new leadership signal a new dawn at the Health Professions Council?

ANALYSIS: Will new leadership signal a new dawn at the Health Professions Council?

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

In May, Dr Magome Masike stepped into the role of CEO and registrar of the Health Professions Council (HPCSA). Eight weeks into the job, Ufrieda Ho sat down to talk to him about his plans for the beleaguered institution.

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Hospital Histories: Valkenberg today… and 130 years ago

Hospital Histories: Valkenberg today… and 130 years ago

By Biénne Huisman,
Posted in: Healthcare system, Latest, Mental Health

Due to policy shifts and the increased availability of antipsychotic medication, mental healthcare has become decentralised, with most patients being treated in primary and district health facilities nearest to where they live. Only about ten percent of mental health patients are referred to psychiatric hospitals like Valkenberg in Cape Town. As part of Spotlight’s series on hospitals’ histories, Biénne Huisman visited Valkenberg Hospital and found in its fascinating past insight into how our approach to mental healthcare has changed over the years.

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In-depth: Concerns over treatment and care for people with schizophrenia not limited to public sector

In-depth: Concerns over treatment and care for people with schizophrenia not limited to public sector

By Thabo Molelekwa,
Posted in: Healthcare system, Latest, Mental Health

South Africa’s shortage of public sector psychologists and psychiatrists has made headlines several times in recent years. This has implications for the treatment of schizophrenia in the public sector. But, as Thabo Molelekwa reports, the picture in the private sector is also far from rosy, with several experts questioning the extent to which medical schemes currently provide cover for people with schizophrenia.

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#WhatItsLike: Top forensic pathologist on his career at the autopsy table

#WhatItsLike: Top forensic pathologist on his career at the autopsy table

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

Attending the Forensic DNA Symposium recently held in Cape Town where the vital role of DNA analysis in criminal investigations was highlighted, Sue Segar caught up with Professor Ryan Blumenthal, a senior specialist forensic pathologist at the University of Pretoria. Blumenthal was one of the speakers. He told her more about bearing first-hand witness to death and its causes at the autopsy table and what this can tell us about the society we live in.

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SA AIDS 2023: New treatments and guidelines to benefit kids, with more advances on the horizon

SA AIDS 2023: New treatments and guidelines to benefit kids, with more advances on the horizon

By Elri Voigt,
Posted in: Child health, HIV, Latest

The 11th SA AIDS conference, recently held in Durban, highlighted the worrying fact that key HIV numbers such as treatment coverage are much lower in children than in adults. But as Elri Voigt reports, conference delegates also heard about new treatments and guidelines that will make life easier for kids and the exciting potential of several new long-acting experimental treatments.

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Face to face: “Fail your way to success”, says Prof behind pioneering drug discovery group at UCT

Face to face: “Fail your way to success”, says Prof behind pioneering drug discovery group at UCT

By Biénne Huisman,
Posted in: Healthcare Workers, Latest

Technical work on the discovery of new medicines is not commonly done in South Africa, or Africa, for that matter. One person who is at the forefront of changing this, is Kelly Chibale, a professor in organic chemistry and founder of the pioneering Holistic Drug Discovery and Development Centre – H3D – at the University of Cape Town. Biénne Huisman spoke to Chibale about his fascinating work and his journey from a village in Zambia, across the world, and back to Cape Town.

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