Gauteng is a province of immense potential and tragic recent history. It is a province that has allowed politics to overwhelm the interests of patients, argues Sasha Stevenson in a talk delivered as part of a lecture series hosted by the Steve Biko Centre for Bioethics at Wits University.
Access to pain management for infants and children in South Africa is inequitable, inconsistent and poorly resourced, resulting in unnecessary and avoidable suffering. Elsabé Brits investigates the state of paediatric pain management in South Africa and asks what can be done to bring pain relief to more infants and children.
After visiting several hospitals in Gauteng in 2020, the Public Protector found that the Gauteng health department has failed to ensure appropriate conditions for the enjoyment and delivery of healthcare services for Gauteng residents. Ahead of the Gauteng health budget vote speech this week, Thabo Molelekwa looked at what has changed after the Public Protector’s recommendations and asked health experts what it will take to improve public healthcare services in the province.
The rollout of new TB prevention medicines in South Africa has progressed slower than expected and new TB prevention guidelines have been delayed. But, reports Catherine Tomlinson, new guidelines should soon be approved and things appear to be falling into place for a faster rollout of the new medicines.
If there is a policy graveyard located somewhere in the country it would be littered with well-written but otherwise poorly implemented policies. Moreover, it would not be unusual to find that most of these policies were buried without proper autopsies being conducted. Claire Botha unpacks the reasons for this and offers some suggestions as to what can be done about it.
Water is crucial for delivering quality healthcare services, so when the taps ran dry at All Saints Hospital in Ngcobo in the Eastern Cape two months ago, patients say things took a turn for the worse. Siyabonga Kamnqa visited the hospital and asked authorities how they plan to deal with the situation.
The World Health Organization estimates that every year 40% of people who fall ill with TB globally are not diagnosed. There is thus an urgent need for faster, safe, and more convenient TB tests. The current gold standard for testing still requires people to cough up sputum, something that some people and children, in particular, struggle with. Tiyese Jeranji looks at the potential of a new experimental oral swab TB test.
The National Department of Health says that lubricant should be freely available alongside condoms at clinics around the country. But according to community-led monitoring group Ritshidze, clinics often do not offer lubricant. Biénne Huisman reports on why access to lubricant is important for HIV prevention and why oil-based lubricants should not be used with condoms.
The South African Constitution says the most basic forms of healthcare should be made accessible to all who reside in the country but this is often not the lived experience of many foreign nationals. Kholofelo Mphahlele unpacks some of the realities foreign nationals face at public health facilities and what the law provides for protecting their rights.
COVID began to hit South Africa badly in May 2020. Now, we are very likely beyond the worst with fewer people dying but COVID remains very infectious and rather deadly, writes Nathan Geffen and Marcus Low.
An ongoing strike by emergency services personnel in the Amathole and King William’s Town areas is putting strain on rural healthcare users needing emergency care. Some healthcare workers say the situation is dire with emergency cases piling up. Luvuyo Mehlwana reports.
Staff shortages, lack of equipment, and not having enough ambulances on the road are all challenges hampering response times and the quality of emergency medical services (EMS) in the Northern Cape. Refilwe Mochoari spoke to relevant stakeholders, including healthcare users and EMS staff about these perennial problems and what is needed to fix them.
