Family physicians poised for bigger role in public healthcare – after years on the sidelines

Family physicians poised for bigger role in public healthcare – after years on the sidelines

Around twenty years ago, family physicians seemed set to take up roles as critical cogs across South Africa’s public healthcare system, but in the years since, doctors trained in this speciality have largely been underutilised. That is now finally set to change, according to the Department of Health, Chris Bateman reports.

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Highrises, hellholes and healthcare – Hillbrow’s heritage story

Highrises, hellholes and healthcare – Hillbrow’s heritage story

Hillbrow started out as Johannesburg’s first health hub in the late 1880s. It’s also been a suburb associated with pimps and prostitution, a middle finger to the Nationalist Party, and a key site of the HIV crisis. Today, it’s the forgotten flatlands of inner city decay … but in small pockets it stays true to its heritage of bringing healthcare to the city’s most overlooked.

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Nelson Mandela Bay clinics under siege as crime threatens healthcare

Nelson Mandela Bay clinics under siege as crime threatens healthcare

A series of robberies at healthcare facilities in the Eastern Cape has disrupted services, with patients sometimes left waiting outside while clinics limit the number of people allowed in. This follows the provincial health department spending over R700 million on security contracts in the past financial year, reports Luvuyo Mehlwana.

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Nursing in SA is changing, but is it enough to avert an anticipated crisis?

Nursing in SA is changing, but is it enough to avert an anticipated crisis?

The increased professionalisation of nursing in South Africa in recent years marks a significant shift in the perception and practice of this essential healthcare field. As the country grapples with a critical shortage of nurses and the ongoing challenges of aligning nursing education with new higher education standards, Thabo Molelekwa asks local experts about the future of nursing in the country.

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Glenda Gray’s fierce fight for science, the COVID-19 ruckus, and the bathroom row about HIV drugs

Glenda Gray’s fierce fight for science, the COVID-19 ruckus, and the bathroom row about HIV drugs

After a decade at the helm of the country’s primary health research funder, Professor Glenda Gray will focus again on doing the science. She tells Spotlight’s Biénne Huisman about her childhood, her passion for research, administering multi-million dollar grants, and a heated argument in the bathroom with an ANC bigwig.

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Sister Leonie Weyers is injecting smiles in a setting where many spirits are hurt

Sister Leonie Weyers is injecting smiles in a setting where many spirits are hurt

The only full-time nurse at the Saartjie Baartman Centre, Sister Leonie Weyers, is not only a caregiver to her patients but also helps them to “feel beautiful” again. Biénne Huisman spent time with her at the shelter situated on gang-war turf in Manenberg.

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Dr Nikki Allorto is one of the only surgeons in KZN doing skin grafting – and she does powerlifting to keep her heart strong

Dr Nikki Allorto is one of the only surgeons in KZN doing skin grafting – and she does powerlifting to keep her heart strong

Burn injury has been described as the forgotten global public health crisis. Dr Nikki Allorto says that while it may be a neglected issue in South Africa, she is making sure her patients feel seen, heard and cared for. Sue Segar spent time with her on ward and clinic rounds at Greys Hospital in KwaZulu-Natal.

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Vivacious sister Sandra Bryant has a disco ball in her lilac clinic in Cape Town

Vivacious sister Sandra Bryant has a disco ball in her lilac clinic in Cape Town

Sister Sandra Bryant runs her clinic in a lilac painted room, where glitter cream and a disco ball does not seem out of place next to scissors, syringes, and needles. She tells Spotlight’s Biénne Huisman about working with Professor Christiaan Barnard, the adrenaline of being in the operating theater, and why she has a tattoo of an anatomical heart.

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EDITORIAL | Behind the Life Esidimeni headlines is the suffering of human beings who deserved better

EDITORIAL | Behind the Life Esidimeni headlines is the suffering of human beings who deserved better

While we focus here on the nine deaths that Judge Mmonoa Teffo found to be unnatural, there were 144 deaths associated with the Life Esidimeni tragedy. Ultimately, these were human beings and for the world to know what happened to them is better than the world not knowing.

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Medicines stockouts persist in North West as tide turns slowly

Medicines stockouts persist in North West as tide turns slowly

Despite some improvement over the past three years, the North West province continues to experience medicine shortages, according to a survey by a community clinic monitoring initiative. Nthusang Lefafa unpacks the latest findings and asks why shortages persist in the province.

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Walking with “nomakhayas”: How the Bulungula Incubator is creating change in Wild Coast communities

Walking with “nomakhayas”: How the Bulungula Incubator is creating change in Wild Coast communities

An innovative health programme is thriving and making a difference in the lives of people in a rural Eastern Cape community. Sue Segar spent time with the project, walking with “nomakhayas” from house-to-house and taking a ferry trip across the Xhora river.

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EDITORIAL | Motsoaledi’s return could work, but he needs a DG who can say “no minister”

EDITORIAL | Motsoaledi’s return could work, but he needs a DG who can say “no minister”

In some respects, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi was the right person for the job when he was appointed as South Africa’s Minister of Health in 2009. But in 2024, the healthcare context in the country looks very different. Spotlight editor Marcus Low asks what we might expect from this new chapter with Motsoaledi in the top health job.

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