Public Healthcare
latest news & developmentsCutting: Why teens turn to self-harm when they don’t have words for their pain
For some teenagers, emotional pain manifests as deliberately cutting, burning, hitting, biting, scratching or picking at their skin
Court orders government, police to block vigilantes from two clinics — and put up warnings at entrances
The judgment complements a November ruling meant to stop groups such as Operation Dudula from blocking foreign nationals from entering government hospitals and clinics and…
Anatomy of a hospital: Groote Schuur in a time of budget and staffing cuts
From porters to engineers, hospital staff navigate chronic underfunding and staffing shortages while maintaining world-class care at one of South Africa’s most storied medical…
ActionSA pushes for constitutional change as Operation Dudula targets migrants at clinics
The Human Rights Commission and legal experts say the Constitution, the National Health Act, the UN Refugee Convention and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights…
Budget 2025: Jobs for only 800 of 1 800 unemployed doctors
This is despite vacancy rates of 5% to 22% in government clinics and hospitals
Is tax alone enough to pay for the National Health Insurance?
The NHI Act says funding healthcare for all should come from tax but economic growth is in a vice and many people are without jobs
2022 census discriminates against LGBTQIA+ community
LGBTQIA+ organisations have accused Stats SA of being discriminatory for excluding transgender, non-binary and intersex categories in a question relating to sex
Time for Africa to take control of its own health
Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya among 27 countries yet to sign the treaty for the establishment of the African Medicines Agency.
Pandemics: A social justice issue
Framing coronavirus as a security threat is not the only possible approach
Editorial: Something beautiful in the disaster
Before us is an opportunity to make sure we come together to ensure the government fixes what urgently needs to be mended.
Curing a sick system: Doctors and nurses must speak out for patients and themselves
Medicine shouldn’t be the only thing on the books at our medical schools. Here are some tips for healthcare workers to handle abuse.
SA doctors demand shorter hours, saying their 30-hour shifts put patients’ lives at risk
The health department and the Health Professions Council of South Africa must act to protect the medics and patients.
Government disputes drug stock-out survey: ‘Far fewer clinics run out of medicine’
The report describes medication shortages as "a serious threat to the public healthcare system". But the government says the figures are inaccurate.
Cervical cancer’s deadly contradiction
Despite cervical cancer being the most preventable form of cancer, it is afflicting more South African women than any other kind.
Publicly waiting for x-rays, privately abandoning all hope
In the state sector, not everyone is equal. Some of us have to pay an arm, a leg and a full working day.