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Decaying infrastructure at Tambo Hospital still putting patients and health workers at risk

Posted in: Gauteng, Healthcare system, Healthcare Workers, Latest, NHI, Provinces

Although the Tambo Memorial Hospital in Boksburg, Gauteng in 2017 had been declared unfit for human habitation” and “an occupational hazard, patients and healthcare workers are continuing to receive and provide health services under unusually difficult conditions. Some say they fear for their lives. Thabo Molelekwa visited the hospital and spoke to some healthcare workers and patients about conditions at the hospital and asked the provincial health department about plans to address the concerns.

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OPINION: How can we make surgical care accessible by drawing on lessons from the AIDS movement?

Posted in: Healthcare system, Latest

The quest for access to equitable and quality surgical care for all will not be won only in board rooms, theatres, or hospital corridors. We have to take this quest into communities and build alliances. In that respect, we can learn from one of the best examples of how community participation and mobilisation can help change health policy – the movement to ensure access to affordable and universal anti-retroviral treatment for persons living with HIV, argues Professor Kathryn Chu and Sangeun Lee.

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OPINION: Mid-term budget fails to show the way to a more resilient recovery

Posted in: Healthcare system, Latest

The Medium-term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) was tabled amid a grim global economic outlook and a climate of increasing political uncertainty, electricity supply challenges, and very high unemployment. Russell Rensburg argues the MTBPS fails to provide a credible path toward a resilient recovery and sets out what can be done to strengthen governance and build social solidarity around the recovery we need.

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Analysis: Making access to surgical care a reality in district hospitals

Posted in: Eastern Cape, Healthcare system, Healthcare Workers, Latest, Northern Cape, Provinces

Earlier this year, Spotlight published a two-part series on the human cost of surgery waiting times and asked what could be done about it. One such solution proposed by some is to devolve less complicated surgical care procedures to district hospitals. The AfroSurg3 Conference held in September, which brought together surgical stakeholders from 11 African countries to improve access to care, shed some light on how this might work. Alicestine October reports.

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Cancer surgeon resigns and volunteers withdraw from Helen Joseph Hospital

Posted in: Gauteng, Healthcare system, Latest, Provinces

The resignation of renowned breast cancer specialist surgeon Professor Carol-Ann Benn from the Helen Joseph Hospital has fuelled concerns about the loss of expertise for the public health sector amid existing pressures on cancer services in Gauteng. Ufrieda Ho spoke to health authorities, patients, and breast clinic volunteers about the potential impact on cancer care at the hospital.

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Editorial: Can health be fixed without fixing politics?

Posted in: Editorial, Healthcare system, Latest, Provinces

Several provincial health departments have stumbled from crisis to crisis over the last decade with no sign of sustained or meaningful improvement. One reason for this, argues Spotlight editor Marcus Low, is political interference and the cadre deployment and cronyism that usually goes with it. If this is correct, is it realistic to think we can address the dysfunction in our health departments without addressing the politics behind it?

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Patients bear brunt of worsening conditions at some Free State clinics, report shows

Posted in: Free State, Healthcare system, HIV/AIDS, Latest, Provinces

A recently published report by the community-led clinic monitoring project, Ritshidze shows that while there have been pockets of improvements at some clinics in the Free State, there are key issues on which facilities’ performance has worsened, especially for people living with HIV. Refilwe Mochoari unpacks the report’s findings zooming in on the situation at Bloemspruit Clinic in Mangaung.

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ANALYSIS: Mixed feelings about NHI at public health conference

Posted in: Healthcare system, Latest, NHI

National Health Insurance (NHI) was one of the hot topics at the 2022 Public Health Association of South Africa Conference recently held in Durban. While several speakers and attendees expressed support for the principles underpinning NHI, many also expressed reservations. Elri Voigt assesses what the conference told us about the views of some of South Africa’s public health experts on NHI.

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