South Africa’s healthcare worker shortages are arguably the country’s biggest healthcare story, yet government leaders have failed to tackle them, according to an editorial. It accompanies an investigation by journalist Sue Segar into unemployed doctors who protested for jobs in KwaZulu-Natal earlier this year. Unemployed doctors amid staff shortages According to the editorial, many of the protesting doctors are committed…
Tag: KwaZulu-Natal
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Medicine Shortages: Experts Call for Patient-Access Measures
South Africa should judge medicine shortages by whether patients receive their full treatment on time, not only by stock figures, according to a recent opinion piece. The author argues that public reporting on patient access would show whether current supply measures actually work. Department reassures on generics On 1 September 2026, the National Department of Health explained that changes in…
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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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Shortage of Medical Specialists in KZN Creating Waiting Lists
An alarming shortage of medical specialists across KwaZulu-Natal’s major government hospitals is creating a public health crisis. Tens of thousands of patients face dangerously long waiting times for critical care. The situation poses a “serious risk” to the public, according to Dr Imran Keeka, the DA’s spokesperson on health in the KZN legislature. Recent replies from Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane…
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Albert Luthuli Hospital Crisis: Lives at Risk
Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital is collapsing. The hospital is a cornerstone of KZN specialist healthcare. Senior doctors warn surgical capacity has plummeted by 60%. An exodus of specialists is crippling the facility. Its ICUs are critically understaffed. There is a severe shortage of essential supplies. Insiders describe an “austerity-fuelled” and life-threatening Albert Luthuli Hospital crisis. Doctors spoke on condition…
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Climate Damage Affects Medication Adherence, fuels health crisis
South Africa’s overstretched public health system is facing a severe crisis. The intensifying effects of climate change wreak havoc on its infrastructure. The issue of climate damage is evident in a new study, which has found a direct link between damaged health facilities and patients failing to take their medication. This has devastating consequences for public health and mortality rates.…
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Union Vows Protests as 150 KZN Doctors Remain Jobless
The Public Servants Association (PSA) has pledged to intensify protest action. This will continue until the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health absorbs every qualified but unemployed doctor into the provincial system. This highlights a growing crisis that leaves critical posts vacant while medical professionals are without work. The influential union is backing more than 150 doctors. These doctors, after completing their…