When Sister Olivia Pharo retired from her job as a nurse at Wesfleur hospital in Cape Town in 2018 it was just the beginning. Most retirees look forward to putting their feet up and spending time with their families. But…
This International Nurses Day is bittersweet for many nurses working in South Africa’s public healthcare system. With the devastating shortage of nurses, ongoing wage battles, unsafe working conditions, and lack of resources, nurses say there is very little to celebrate.…
Patients seeking medical care at the Boitumelo Hospital in Maokeng, just outside Kroonstad in the Free State, have been turned away due to issues with contractors. Surgeries and other vital services have been called off until further notice. The…
Pregnant with her second child, 25-year-old Kea Selai hopes to raise her kids in an environment with access to health care services. Her wish, however, seems unobtainable as she and others living in Zone 1 in Thaba Nchu have…
The Mofumahadi Manapo Mopeli Regional Hospital in QwaQwa has got its naysayers out in full force following reports of old equipment and the low morale of health workers. As the walls fall in, poverty-stricken residents are too afraid to seek…
The ambitious 24-hour daily service, including weekends at Limpopo clinics and primary health centres (CHCs) is hitting a snag due to a shortage of nurses and ancillary staff. Community members and health workers’ unions have since called for action…
Limpopo is facing a potential crisis ahead of the festive season after 21 emergency care officers were fired. Their contracts were terminated after the Health Professionals Council of South Africa (HPCSA) concluded they failed to meet the required standards…
Although public healthcare in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) still has a long way to go, there are glimmers of hope for the province, as revealed in the latest edition of the Ritshidze report. At least 11 key issues were examined in…
With the arrival of the Phelophepa train in Mokopane in Limpopo, residents have been able to overcome long queues, medicine stock-outs and a lack of privacy. The state-owned Transnet mobile clinic has provided free healthcare to thousands of South Africans…
Health professionals are often targeted by formula milk companies, given their strong influence on mothers and infant feeding attitudes and practices. To counter their often aggressive marketing campaigns, a local expert believes health science students can act as agents of…
As medico-legal claims continue to pile up in hospitals across the country, Bloemfontein’s Pelonomi Hospital is no different with several accounts from dissatisfied patients painting a grim picture. Not too long ago, the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) warned…
The family of a four-year-old boy who died after he was hit by a car last month believes he may have survived if it wasn’t for load shedding. Their nightmare started when a car hit Nhlakanipho Zondo while he was…
The Limpopo Health MEC has called for action after a critically ill woman was denied entry to the Vleifontein clinic on Friday evening. Forty-year-old Norah Manthosi was rushed to the facility by her neighbours. To their dismay, when they arrived,…
Breastfeeding is a relationship between two people in a thrilling new, highly vulnerable position: a mother and her newborn. It’s a bonding experience shaped by physiology, emotion and the good and bad realities of life. It is far more than…