As the globe marks World Patient Safety Day today, the National Health Ministry has called for the country’s healthcare professionals to avoid any form of negligence and, with that, the threat of litigation. Often, medical errors are underreported for fear…
The globe is on the right path to ending the COVID-19 pandemic, with countries having recorded the lowest number of infections – the first time since March 2020. World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus gave the good news…
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…
Active pharmaceutical ingredient shortages, production delays, and quality control issues are some of the reasons for a shortage of contraceptives between April and June this year. The Health Department revealed this in its response to the release of the latest…
Health Minister Dr Joe Phaala is expected to reveal details of the county’s monkeypox response tomorrow. This comes after South Africa’s fourth case was confirmed earlier this week. The patient is a 28-year-old man from the Western Cape who had…
Qwa-Qwa residents claim that nothing has changed since the Mofumahadi Manapo Hospital was declared a National Health Insurance (NHI) pilot by former Health Minister, Zweli Mkhize. The people of Phuthaditjhaba have labelled the move nothing but a publicity stunt. When…
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,…
Patients in KwaZulu-Natal who receive their chronic medication through a distribution system claim their pre-packed medicine is often incorrect and inadThe National Department of Health launched the Central Chronic Medicines Dispensing and Distribution (CCMDD) program of Health in 2014. It…
Patients were forced to jump through hoops to access healthcare services at the Thembisa Provincial Tertiary Hospital (TPTH) as violent service delivery protests erupted across the Ekurhuleni township yesterday. Residents blockaded all major roads with burning tyres and rocks, demanding…
Just as load shedding was suspended after weeks of rolling blackouts, patients at the Bongani Hospital in the Lejweleputswa District were either turned away or transferred to other hospitals following cable theft on Monday night. The criminal act also meant…
When Nontuthuzelo Made was admitted to the intensive care unit after testing positive for COVID-19, she thought it was just a matter of days before she’d go home. But the 42-year-old was actually fighting for her life. “Initially, I didn’t…
Access to health care services is a basic human right as stipulated in South Africa’s Constitution. Yet, the community members of Mmakaunyana Village in Moretele are being stripped of these rights, which places their well-being under severe threat. The Mmakaunyana…
Out of utter desperation, members from various Free State communities approached the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), which has since paid a three-day visit to evaluate the province’s crumbling health infrastructure. The commission has now put the ball in…
With family rejection rife in some communities, a former mental health patient has urged relatives to give their loved ones a second shot at life. About a year ago, Melvin Matodzi* was discharged from the Hayani Psychiatric Hospital just outside…
The situation at the Hayani Psychiatric Hospital in Vhembe outside Thohoyandou in Limpopo is a nightmare. The facility has a shortage of beds as discharged patients with nowhere to go remain in the hospital. It is also forced to turn…