Medical Brief

4 days ago | medicalbrief.co.za | Venilla Yoganathan

Patients are being left untreated for weeks and surgeries postponed amid a ballooning crisis at Bophelong Provincial Hospital in the North West, where severe staff shortages and systemic dysfunction appear to be slowly bringing the facility to the brink of collapse.

4 days ago | medicalbrief.co.za | Venilla Yoganathan

The first new antibiotic in 50 years to tackle a common superbug is expected to be tested on patients soon, Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche has announced. Zosurabalpin, which is entering into the third and last phase of testing on humans, targets one of the bacteria considered to pose the biggest threat to human health, and has been hailed as an “exciting” development in the fight against antibiotic resistance.

4 days ago | medicalbrief.co.za | Venilla Yoganathan

A letter apparently sent to the SAPS demanding R2m in compensation for the “unlawful arrest” of TikTok doctor Matthew Lani in 2023 has not been seen by Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, but he would “deal with it when it lands on his desk”. Lani, who was arrested at Helen Joseph Hospital in Johannesburg in October 2023 after a social media frenzy about his qualifications, made headlines for masquerading as a doctor and dishing out “medical” advice on TikTok.

4 days ago | medicalbrief.co.za | Venilla Yoganathan

The family of an Eastern Cape man is squaring up to take on the Council for Medical Schemes (CMS), after an unsuccessful struggle to have Discoverycover the costs of his costly cancer medication, and after they were forced to crowdfund to get him on to the treatment. Diagnosed with what they saw as a death sentence a year ago, Reverend Barry Fourie’s only hope was the expensive treatment Discovery refused to cover.

4 days ago | medicalbrief.co.za | Venilla Yoganathan

The government has been sharply rebuked yet again for its tardiness in paying outstanding bills to small suppliers, with the SA Medical Device Industry Association (Samed) warning that small firms are increasingly reluctant to supply the state, which owes millions to desperate members. The biggest offender, owing R650m – with R379.7m of the debt being older than 120 days – is the Gauteng Department of Health. Last year, it owed Samed members R493m.