TB catch-up plan underway in WC but old challenges linger

By Siyabonga Kamnqa, October 23, 2020

Posted in: Edition 10: Drug-resistant TB, Edition 14: Tuberculosis, Latest, Provinces, Western Cape

In 2019 around 360 000 people in South Africa fell ill with tuberculosis (TB) and about 58 000 people died due to the disease, according to a World Health Organization Report released last week. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated these already alarming numbers, with some TB patients stopping treatment during lockdown. Siyabonga Kamnqa looks at the plans the Western Cape Health Department has in place to get its TB programme back on track and finds old challenges still remain.

TB catch-up plan underway in WC but old challenges linger

COVID-19: How provinces are catching up on elective procedures

By Tiyese Jeranji, October 6, 2020

Posted in: Gauteng, Healthcare system, Kwazulu-Natal, Latest, Limpopo, Provinces, Western Cape

As South Africa prepared for the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals had to come up with plans to deal with the expected influx of COVID-19 patients. Part of this plan was that hospitals would minimise or temporarily put elective procedures on hold. Now, with the country at alert level 1 of its lockdown, Tiyese Jeranji looks at how four provinces are again phasing in elective procedures.

Tags: cataracts Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital clinical support services COVID-19 COVID-19 preparations elective surgery featured Groote Schuur Hospital hip replacements hospitalisations lockdown spinal surgeries surgeries surgical procedures Tygerberg Hospital WESTERN CAPE HEALTH

COVID-19: How provinces are catching up on elective procedures

COVID-19: Innovating and adapting at Zithulele Hospital

By Tiyese Jeranji, October 1, 2020

Posted in: Eastern Cape, Edition 13: Eastern Cape Health, Healthcare system, Latest, Provinces

With chronic health worker shortages and limited resources such as ventilators in rural public health facilities, how did Zithulele Hospital in OR Tambo District manage its COVID-19 cases? Tiyese Jeranji spoke to two doctors working at Zithulele about an innovative oxygen solution, infection control, and much more.

Tags: Bubble CPAP Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP)COVID-19 CPAP Department of Health DRUG-RESISTANT TB EASTERN CAPE HEALTH featured healthcare facilities healthcare workers High flow nasal oxygen infant respiratory distress syndrome (IRDS)mechanical ventilation PPE Public Health public health facilities Rural Doctors' Association of Southern Africa rural health ventilators Zithulele Hospital

COVID-19: Innovating and adapting at Zithulele Hospital

Dire conditions at Mthatha General and Nessie Knight hospitals

By Luvuyo Mehlwana, September 29, 2020

Posted in: Eastern Cape, Edition 13: Eastern Cape Health, Healthcare system, Latest, NHI, Provinces

The dire state of health infrastructure and services in the Eastern Cape has made headlines during the COVID-19 pandemic and triggered promises of government intervention, but in some hospitals those providing and receiving healthcare note little to no improvement. Luvuyo Mehlwana reports.

Tags: COVID-19 COVID-19 response Department of Health district health services Eastern Cape EASTERN CAPE HEALTH Eastern Cape Health Crisis Action Coalition featured health and safety health workers hospitals Mthatha General Hospital Nehawu Nessie Knight Hospital Office of Health Standards Compliance OHSC PPEs public health facilities public health services public protector TAC Treatment Action Campaign

Dire conditions at Mthatha General and Nessie Knight hospitals

OP-ED: Underpaid and Unprotected -The case for supporting Community Health Workers

By Isabel Foster, Phumeza Tisile, Ingrid Schoeman and Ruvandhi Nathavitharana, September 28, 2020

Posted in: Eastern Cape, Free State, Healthcare Workers, Latest, Northern Cape, Provinces

If we are serious about Universal Health Care, we need to match the commitment shown by community health workers (CHWs). Not only must their contribution to the pandemic response be adequately recognised, but CHWs deserve a say in health policymaking and implementation that affects them, the authors argue.

Tags: CHWs Community Health Care Workers COVID-19 COVID-19 response Department of Health Dr Zweli Mkhize featured health workers health workforce N95 respirators PPE primary health care rural health TB Universal Health Coverage Ward Bsed Primary healthcare

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OP-ED: Underpaid and Unprotected -The case for supporting Community Health Workers

Interview: Dr Keith Cloete, from District Six to COVID-19 engine room

By Biénne Huisman, September 22, 2020

Posted in: Latest, Provinces, Western Cape

Dr Keith Cloete became head of the Western Cape Health Department on April 1 2020, two weeks into South Africa’s COVID-19 lockdown level 5. Biénne Huisman asked him about the long road from a childhood in District Six to the blur of meetings in the Western Cape’s COVID-19 engine room.

Tags: COVID-19 featured Health System Keith Cloete NHI NHI Bill Nomafrench Mbombo Public Health UHC Universal Health Coverage WESTERN CAPE HEALTH Western Cape MEC for Health

Interview: Dr Keith Cloete, from District Six to COVID-19 engine room

COVID-19: What life is like in Khayelitsha after the surge

By Siyabonga Kamnqa, September 15, 2020

Posted in: Latest, Provinces, Western Cape

On alert level two of South Africa’s lockdown and despite authorities warning against complacency, residents in places such as Khayelitsha are not just more relaxed, but many are abandoning COVID-19 safety precautions. Siyabonga Kamnqa reports.

Tags: Alan Winde antibody tests clinic committees Clinics Community Health Care Workers COVID-19 COVID-19 infections featured health behaviour healthcare workers HIV Khayelitsha Khayelitsha Health Forum MSF Sassa seroprevalence Social Determinants of Health TB TB contact tracing WESTERN CAPE HEALTH

COVID-19: What life is like in Khayelitsha after the surge

COVID-19: How mechanical ventilation has saved lives at Groote Schuur Hospital

By Tiyese Jeranji, September 8, 2020

Posted in: Latest, Provinces, Western Cape

While high-flow nasal oxygen has been one of the success stories of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is not always enough. Sometimes more invasive mechanical ventilation is required. Tiyese Jeranji spoke to Professor Ross Hofmeyr on what mechanical ventilation entails and the measures his team at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town have employed to successfully manage these critical COVID-19 cases.

Tags: acute respiratory distress Airway and Anaesthesia team Anaesthesiologist COVID-19 COVID-19 deaths featured Groote Schuur Hospital High flow nasal oxygen ICU infection control intubation mechanical ventilation oxygen levels oxygen therapy oxygenation PPE respiratory system South African Society of Anaesthesiologists Tygerberg Hospital ventilators

COVID-19: How mechanical ventilation has saved lives at Groote Schuur Hospital

COVID-19: We can’t breathe – residents in South Durban say whilst caught between COVID-19 and polluted air

By Nomfundo Xolo, September 2, 2020

Posted in: Kwazulu-Natal, Latest, Provinces

Lockdown has been difficult for most people in South Africa, but residents in the South Durban Basin describe their experiences as tantamount to a health hostage situation as they are caught between polluted air from petrochemical industries and the COVID-19 virus. Nomfundo Xolo investigates.

Tags: air pollution air quality asthma Cape Town Lung Institute chronic inflammatory lung disease chronic obstructive pulmonary disease community health COVID-19 CSIR dirty air environmental health environmental laws environmental policy eThekwini Metro featured KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health lockdown lung capacity lung function premature deaths Public Health respiratory diseases respiratory illnesses respiratory system SAMRC

COVID-19: We can’t breathe – residents in South Durban say whilst caught between COVID-19 and polluted air

IN PICTURES: The making of a public health time bomb: Just (don’t) add water

By Alicestine October, September 1, 2020

Posted in: Eastern Cape, Latest, Provinces

On the ground in the Eastern Cape and from recent proceedings in parliament, it seems clear that there is a water management crisis in the OR Tambo District – a crisis with public health implications beyond just COVID-19.

Tags: cholera community health COVID-19 COVID-19 response Eastern Cape Eastern Cape department of Cooperative Governance EASTERN CAPE HEALTH environmental health featured health and hygiene protocol Public Health Rural Doctors' Association of Southern Africa rural health safe water water and health waterborne diseases

IN PICTURES: The making of a public health time bomb: Just (don’t) add water

IN-DEPTH: On the streets with paramedics amid COVID-19 and high crime rates

By Melissa Javan, August 11, 2020

Posted in: Gauteng, Latest, Provinces, Western Cape

In South Africa responding to medical emergencies can mean risking your life, possible assault and losing some of your belongings. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated and added to these daily challenges faced by paramedics. Melissa Javan investigates.

Tags: Ambulance service COVID-19 COVID-19 deaths COVID-19 infections Emergency Medical Service EMS EMS responses featured Gauteng Department of Health health and safety health resources healthcare workers lockdown Paramedics WESTERN CAPE HEALTH

IN-DEPTH: On the streets with paramedics amid COVID-19 and high crime rates

COVID-19: 65-year-old driver tells of his time in Cape Town’s Hospital of Hope

By Biénne Huisman, August 3, 2020

Posted in: Latest, Provinces, Western Cape

On July 22 Richard Abrahams, his wife, and three children celebrated his 65th birthday with orange cake and well-wishes. Less than a month before, Abrahams was struggling to breathe due to COVID-19 and receiving oxygen at Cape Town’s Hospital of Hope. He shared his story with Biénne Huisman.

Tags: Alan Winde Brackengate COVID-19 COVID-19 deaths COVID-19 preparations COVID-19 testing diabetes featured field hospitals High flow nasal oxygen Nomafrench Mbombo oxygen Tygerberg Hospital WESTERN CAPE HEALTH

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