North West: Long distances, medicines stockouts, and Mediosa busses gathering dust

Posted in: Spotlight

Hours waiting for emergency medical services, medicine shortages, high travel costs, and long walking distances to clinics. These are some of the issues rural communities in the North West face when trying to access healthcare services. Meanwhile, expensive mobile clinics purchased from the Gupta-linked Mediosa are gathering dust. Nthusang Lefafa spoke to community members in some of these rural communities and the provincial health authorities.

North West: Long distances, medicines stockouts, and Mediosa busses gathering dust

In-depth: Risk to newborns increasing as antibiotics stop working

Posted in: Child health, Healthcare system, Latest

The number of newborn babies dying from neonatal sepsis is rising as the antibiotics used to treat them are not working effectively, a landmark international study has found. Adele Baleta reports on the findings and their implications for newborns in South Africa.

In-depth: Risk to newborns increasing as antibiotics stop working

Opinion: COVID-19 has been hard on kids, more support is needed

Posted in: Child health, COVID-19, Healthcare system, Latest, Mental Health

A rise in teenage pregnancies and gender-based violence coupled with the loss and uncertainty related to COVID-19 are all stressors fuelling the mental health burden the pandemic will leave on children, especially girls. If not adequately addressed, argues Kholofelo Mphahlele, the mental health consequences for a generation of children and young people could far surpass the immediate health and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving harmful long-term social and economic consequences in its wake.

Opinion: COVID-19 has been hard on kids, more support is needed

Editorial: How do we make an HIV and TB plan that has greater impact?

Posted in: Edition 8: NSP in general, Edition 9: State of HIV, Editorial, Healthcare system, HIV/AIDS, Latest, NSP and SANAC

South Africa’s new National Strategic Plan for HIV, TB, and STIs is being developed this year. Spotlight editor Marcus Low asks what we should aim for in the new strategy and how we should go about developing it.

Editorial: How do we make an HIV and TB plan that has greater impact?

Interview: ‘I love science, I love people’, says award-winning young doctor

Posted in: Healthcare system, Healthcare Workers, Latest

Newly graduated Dr Leago Sebesho says she is learning on her feet during gruelling shifts at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital in Soweto. Biénne Huisman caught up with the twenty-five-year-old Sebesho, who was recently awarded the Bongani Mayosi Leadership Prize at the University of Cape Town.

Interview: ‘I love science, I love people’, says award-winning young doctor

Healthcare security challenges in the Western Cape

Posted in: Healthcare system, Healthcare Workers, Latest, Provinces, Western Cape

When healthcare workers or patients walk into healthcare facilities, the last thing on their minds should be whether they might be robbed or assaulted. Unfortunately, the safety of healthcare workers and patients has been compromised in some areas. Tiyese Jeranji reports on safety and security at health facilities and in communities where emergency medical services are required in the Western Cape.

Healthcare security challenges in the Western Cape

A year after the fire, little progress at Charlotte Maxeke Hospital

Posted in: Gauteng, Latest, Provinces

One year after the fire at Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital in Johannesburg there’s damning evidence of missteps and delays in maintaining health and safety standards, sabotage and incompetence in managing the rebuild, and dire knock-on effects for the province’s healthcare system. Ufrieda Ho reports

A year after the fire, little progress at Charlotte Maxeke Hospital

Opinion: An interdict on teen vaccination will harm basic education and violate the rights of learners

Posted in: Latest

The African Christian Democratic Party and partners are in the High Court today and tomorrow seeking to stop the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines to adolescents. But in a context where the majority of learners attend schools with infrastructure problems and serious overcrowding, vaccines remain a critical tool to keep learners safe and prevent outbreaks of infection at schools, argue Julia Chaskalson and Zeenat Sujee.

Opinion: An interdict on teen vaccination will harm basic education and violate the rights of learners

What Eastern Cape youth say about preventing HIV and unwanted pregnancies

Posted in: Eastern Cape, Latest, Provinces

During her recent budget speech Eastern Cape Health MEC Nkhosazana Meth expressed concern over the number of teenage pregnancies in the province. Health activists are calling for a comprehensive plan to address this, while adolescents interviewed by Spotlight say they need more education on sex and HIV prevention methods. Luvuyo Mehlwana reports.

What Eastern Cape youth say about preventing HIV and unwanted pregnancies

In-depth: Critical medicine priced out of reach for people with cryptococcal meningitis

Posted in: Access to Medicines, Latest

Cryptococcal meningitis is the second top killer of people living with HIV in South Africa. In the second of a two-part series on access to treatment for the condition, Catherine Tomlinson puts the Spotlight on the drug liposomal amphotericin B (part one looked at flucytosine).

In-depth: Critical medicine priced out of reach for people with cryptococcal meningitis

Opinion: District hospitals will be key to NHI, empower them

Posted in: Latest, NHI

The successful implementation of National Health Insurance (NHI) will rely heavily on effective governance at district level. The NHI Bill correctly identifies district hospitals as key during the early transitional NHI phases. Failing to capacitate them for the challenges ahead could prove disastrous, argues Russell Rensburg and Claire Botha.

Opinion: District hospitals will be key to NHI, empower them

Promising early signs from mobile X-ray TB screening pilots

Posted in: Eastern Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Latest, Provinces, Western Cape

One of the key recommendations from the National TB Prevalence Survey released last year was to increase “access to TB screening and testing services through outreach programmes using mobile testing and X-ray facilities”. Tiyese Jeranji takes stock of the number of mobile X-ray vans and containers across the country and plans to scale up their use.