The Gauteng health department should be placed under Treasury administration. Chronic medicine shortages have left clinic patients rationing medication or buying it themselves. The editorial says the province can no longer guarantee even basic care. Patients told to split pills Recently, chronic medicine shortages at Gauteng clinics have forced some patients to buy medicines privately or ration their pills. Mamelodi…
Tag: Gauteng
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South Africa’s Population Growth Holds at 1.2%
South Africa’s population grew by an estimated 1.2% in the year to June 2026. This brought the total population to 63.52 million, according to the latest mid-year population estimates from Statistics South Africa. The rate was broadly unchanged from 2025. During that year, the population increased by 1.23% to 63.1 million. South Africa’s population has grown from 42.9 million in…
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Surge in Malaria as Climate Change Fuels Regional Outbreaks
Malaria cases in Mpumalanga increased fourfold in January compared with the same period a year earlier, according to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD). This intensifies concern over South Africa’s goal of eliminating the disease by 2029. This dramatic malaria cases surge highlights the urgency for effective intervention. The sharp rise comes as several southern African countries report major…
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Gauteng Waiting Lists Hit Up To 10 Years At Major Hospitals
Gauteng patients who need hip replacements are waiting between three and 10 years on public hospital lists. Gauteng health MEC Faith Mazibuko disclosed the scale of the delay in a recent reply to Democratic Alliance (DA) questions in the Gauteng legislature. Mazibuko linked the growing backlog to several operational pressures across the province. She said a high proportion of older…
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Gauteng Patient Debt Recovery Targets Unpaid Fees
Gauteng’s public health system is tightening its grip on unpaid patient fees as outstanding debt climbs to about R4.6 billion. The Gauteng department of health says the recovery drive is now a priority, as the province faces sustained financial pressure and rising demand for services. The department confirmed that it is intensifying revenue collection as part of a broader financial…
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Gauteng Health Budget Underspending Exposes Service Pressure
The provincial health department’s failure to spend its budget has once again placed Gauteng’s health system under the spotlight. This comes even as hospitals deteriorate and frontline gaps widen. The Gauteng health department projects an underspend of R725 million for the 2025–26 financial year ending 31 March. This is according to an official reply from the finance and economic development…
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Gauteng Patients Face Alarming Spike in Adverse Events
Gauteng’s public healthcare system is facing intense scrutiny. This follows the revelation that Gauteng patients suffered 7,386 Serious Adverse Events (SAEs) in state hospitals between April 1, 2024, and March 31, 2025. The figures, confirmed by Gauteng MEC for Health and Wellness, Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko, represent a troubling increase from the 7,117 incidents reported in the previous year. Despite thousands of…
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Tembisa Hospital Looting Sparks Health Head’s Suspension
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi has suspended the head of the provincial health department, Lesiba Arnold Malotana, with immediate effect. This follows damning revelations of wholesale looting at Tembisa hospital. Describing the situation as “disturbing”, the Premier’s move makes Malotana the first high-profile casualty of the corruption scandal uncovered by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU). The suspension follows the assassination of…
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African Nursing Conference Aims for Collaborative Care
Public and private sector nurses from across the SADC region are gathered in Boksburg this week for the Fifth African Nursing Conference. This conference provides a critical platform aimed at bridging divides. It also focuses on forging a united path towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in the era of National Health Insurance (NHI). The African Nursing Conference is focused on…
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Medico-Legal Claims Impacting Public Health Budgets
South Africa’s public healthcare system is under severe financial strain. The total value of medico-legal claims against the state has skyrocketed to an astonishing R77 billion as of March 2024. Provincial health departments, particularly in the Eastern Cape and Gauteng, are battling thousands of lawsuits. These lawsuits divert critical funds away from essential patient services. In a written reply to…