Professor Rudo Mathivha became director of the Intensive Care Unit at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital in July 1999, holding her own in a white male-dominated space. Biénne Huisman chatted with Mathivha about her impressive journey, her deep commitment to patients, and the ongoing challenges at the country’s largest hospital.
The risk of a hospitalised person dying from COVID-19 in the Eastern Cape was almost double the risk of someone dying of the disease in the Western Cape, according to a study published in the South African Journal of Science. Adele Baleta unpacks the study’s rich set of findings on hospitalisation and death in South Africa.
New research published in the South African Medical Journal has found compelling evidence that a blanket ban on alcohol reduces the number of unnatural deaths related to trauma injuries while curfews have less of an impact. Adele Baleta spoke to lead author, Professor Tom Moultrie.
At Cape Town’s Tygerberg Hospital, a robot named Quintin played its part in the fight to save Nceba Simayile’s life as he lay intubated on a ventilator, struggling to breathe. Biénne Huisman reports.
While high-flow nasal oxygen has been one of the success stories of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is not always enough. Sometimes more invasive mechanical ventilation is required. Tiyese Jeranji spoke to Professor Ross Hofmeyr on what mechanical ventilation entails and the measures his team at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town have employed to successfully manage these critical COVID-19 cases.
COVID-19 patients often die without family or loved ones by their side. However, they are not entirely alone. People like nurse Anthea Willemse console them in their final hour.
The reinstatement of the ban on the sale of alcohol may have come as a surprise to many, but evidence suggest that it will have a significant impact on trauma and hospital capacity in the coming weeks. Elna Schütz investigates.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has called the COVID-19 pandemic the gravest crisis in the country’s democratic history. Now, with the Western Cape and Gauteng making up nearly 64 percent of the country’s total confirmed infections, Kathryn Cleary asked departments of health in both provinces how prepared they are for the coming peak.
As COVID-19 case numbers continue to rise, so does the need for hospital beds. Kathryn Cleary explores the agreements that will see some public sector COVID-19 patients going to private hospitals and asks what this means for NHI.
The substantial relaxation of South Africa’s COVID-19 lockdown measures from today was probably both inevitable and the right decision. But with ICU capacity in the Western Cape already stretched, and infections in the province rising rapidly, one or two measures may need to be reconsidered, argues Marcus Low.
On Sunday evening President Cyril Ramaphosa revealed South Africa’s battle plan against COVID-19. We asked public health experts, political parties, health workers and civil society organisations what they thought of it.
