Health in 2023: A deceptively busy year in fewer than 1 000 words

Posted in: Editorial, Latest

2023 was a busy year for healthcare in South Africa. We saw several promising policy developments, landmark court cases, important pieces of legislation, and some changes in leadership. Yet, take a step back and at facility level little seems to have changed. Shortages of healthcare workers persist, corruption is still rife, budgets tight, and our health governance crisis remains as acute as ever. Marcus Low looks back at the year in health in fewer than 1 000 words.

Health in 2023: A deceptively busy year in fewer than 1 000 words

Mixed feelings on NHI aired at Eastern Cape hearing

Posted in: Eastern Cape, Latest, NHI

Concerns around corruption and whether or not there would be health coverage for foreign nationals were two of the top talking points at a recent public hearing on the National Health Insurance Bill held in the Eastern Cape. Luvuyo Mehlwana reports.

Mixed feelings on NHI aired at Eastern Cape hearing

Opinion: Exciting health reforms are possible if we can move beyond all the political sclerosis

Posted in: Latest, NHI

It is often enlightening to ask how and why certain services differ in the ways they do between the private and public healthcare sectors. By too rigidly focusing on the NHI Bill, argues Spotlight Editor Marcus Low, government risks losing sight of the many other interesting answers to this and other important questions about healthcare reform in South Africa.

Opinion: Exciting health reforms are possible if we can move beyond all the political sclerosis

Opinion: There are paths to quality universal healthcare besides NHI

Posted in: Comment, Healthcare system, Latest, NHI

One of the most damaging aspects of our public discourse on National Health Insurance (NHI) is the mistaken notion in some quarters that the only two options are NHI and the status quo, argues Marcus Low.

Opinion: There are paths to quality universal healthcare besides NHI

ANALYSIS: Will new leadership signal a new dawn at the Health Professions Council?

Posted in: Healthcare system, Healthcare Workers, Latest

In May, Dr Magome Masike stepped into the role of CEO and registrar of the Health Professions Council (HPCSA). Eight weeks into the job, Ufrieda Ho sat down to talk to him about his plans for the beleaguered institution.

ANALYSIS: Will new leadership signal a new dawn at the Health Professions Council?

Opinion: Why I became a nurse and what’s needed to fix nursing in SA

Posted in: Healthcare system, Healthcare Workers, Latest

René Sparks qualified as a nurse 21 years ago. Now, on International Nurses Day, she reflects on her journey and what’s needed to ensure a better future for nursing in South Africa.

Opinion: Why I became a nurse and what’s needed to fix nursing in SA

Ramaphosa proclaims ‘health revolution’ at second presidential health summit

Posted in: COVID-19, Healthcare system, Healthcare Workers, Latest

Round two of the Presidential Health Summit centred on getting closer to realising National Health Insurance, but the question of how to do this remains murky. Ufrieda Ho reports.

Ramaphosa proclaims ‘health revolution’ at second presidential health summit

INTERVIEW: Being a good doctor requires empathy, says outgoing health ombud Prof Malegapuru Makgoba

Posted in: Healthcare system, Healthcare Workers, Latest

South Africa’s health ombud Professor Malegapuru Makgoba’s tenure as ombud will end at the end of May. Bienne Huisman spoke to him about headline-making investigations into the Life Esidemeni tragedy and conditions at Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital, his childhood in Limpopo, and how he side-stepped former President Nelson Mandela’s invitation to join the African National Congress.

INTERVIEW: Being a good doctor requires empathy, says outgoing health ombud Prof Malegapuru Makgoba

OPINION: NHI Bill must still clear many hurdles to ensure adequate medicine access

Posted in: Healthcare system, Latest, NHI

The Health Department’s recent response to submissions and its own recommendations on amendments to the National Health Insurance Bill sadly does not realise the gravity of the threat to the future of medicine selection and access. As the Bill currently stands, it will leave us at the mercy of advisory committees that bear no duty to be transparent in deciding which medicines people will be able to access under NHI, the authors argue.

OPINION: NHI Bill must still clear many hurdles to ensure adequate medicine access

Spotlight on Health: 2022 in under 1 000 words

Posted in: COVID-19, Healthcare system, HIV/AIDS, Latest, TB

An HIV prevention injection approved in South Africa, several promising developments on the tuberculosis front, the National Health Insurance Bill grinding its way through Parliament, no end in sight to healthcare worker shortages, another dire year for health in Gauteng – Spotlight wraps up 2022 in under 1 000 words.

Spotlight on Health: 2022 in under 1 000 words

Construction and maintenance delays plague ‘ideal hospital’ in Kroonstad

Posted in: COVID-19, Free State, Healthcare system, Latest, NHI, Provinces

Some healthcare services at Boitumelo Regional Hospital in Kroonstad are hamstrung by construction delays, poor maintenance, and water shortages – despite the hospital being classified as one of the Free State’s ‘ideal hospitals’. Refilwe Mochoari investigates.

Construction and maintenance delays plague ‘ideal hospital’ in Kroonstad

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.