Despite some interventions by Mpumalanga’s health department, a litany of challenges at Mpumalanga hospitals continue to hamstrung quality patient care in the province. Nthusang Lefafa explores these challenges and asked the health department what is being done to address them.
South Africa is among the most unequal countries in the world with a huge quadruple burden of disease and to address this we need hands. Professor Parimalaranie Yogeswaran argues that we should maximise the untapped potential of clinical associates to beef up the clinical health workforce.
The community-led clinic monitoring project, Ritshidze last week, released its follow-up report on the state of (primary) healthcare in Mpumalanga. There were some improvements, but patients are still waiting over four hours to be seen at some clinics. Nthusang Lefafa unpacks some of the report’s findings and asked the health department about its plans to address these shortcomings.
After almost a year, the Gauteng Health Department yesterday announced a strategic reset for repairs at Charlotte Maxeke Hospital after a fire ravaged parts of the hospital in April last year. The announcement comes ahead of Gauteng Premier David Makhura’s State of the Province Address on Monday but still does not provide immediate relief to patients and hospitals buckling as a result of delays. Ufrieda Ho reports.
Even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic many medical interns in South Africa had a tough time, often working long hours and with little oversight or support. Chris Bateman spoke to interns and junior doctors in public hospitals and tag-on COVID-19 facilities, who are performing tasks of porters, auxiliary nurses, and liaising with anxious relatives, instead of getting the required hands-on, supervised learning.
Professor Koleka Mlisana is co-chair of South Africa’s COVID-19 Ministerial Advisory Committee. Ufrieda Ho interviewed her about her love of science, her career, and her role in the fight against COVID-19.
In 1947 the first black woman qualified as a doctor in South Africa. Her name was Mary Malahlela-Xakana. It took the country about 60 years after its first black male doctor started practicing for Malahlela-Xakana to don her stethoscope and practice medicine. Much, but not enough has changed since then, writes Alicestine October.
Troubles regarding the placement of community service doctors have made headlines once again this year, as it seems to do most years. The structural roots of these problems are long-standing and complex. Elna Schütz unpacks the complexities and talks to role-players about possible solutions.
Thousands of healthcare contract workers in the Eastern Cape Department of Health face an uncertain future over the continued extension of their contracts. This follows two conflicting decisions on ending contracts of workers roped in February last year to help in the fight against COVID-19 in the province. Luvuyo Mehlwana reports.
Last month, Professor Hoosen “Jerry” Coovadia’s textbook Coovadia’s Paediatrics & Child Health was released in its seventh edition – 819 pages thick – 37 years after it was first published in 1984 but it is his work on HIV/AIDS transmission from mothers to babies that he is most famous for. Bienne Huisman asked Coovadia about his legacy and his advice for the medical community.
The South African Social Security Agency’s decision to suspend temporary disability grants in December left over 210 000 beneficiaries without an income – including some DR TB patients who rely on this grant to stay on treatment. Elri Voigt investigates.
In allowing section 21 applications as part of a controlled compassionate access programme, SAHPRA has essentially shifted the responsibility for deciding whether the anti-parasitic ivermectin is safe and effective enough to be used in the treatment of COVID-19 to doctors. This places an enormous responsibility on doctors, writes Adele Baleta.
