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.
Many people in South Africa unnecessarily suffer from chronic pain due to system failures, poor access to expensive medicines, and lack of sufficient medical education on pain management. What’s worse is that even though morphine is cheap and easy to administer – those who do need palliative care often don’t receive it. Elsabé Brits takes an in-depth look at how we deal with pain in South Africa.
Three years ago, public sector cancer services made headlines for failing patients in multiple provinces. A few government interventions later, experts say there have been improvements, but significant issues remain. Elna Schütz reports.
As COVID-19 infections and deaths increase in South Africa, the need for palliative care has become more apparent. Tiyese Jeranji spoke to palliative care specialists and a family about the challenges they face in accessing and providing palliative care services during the pandemic.
