Unpaid specialist training is becoming an increasingly visible feature of South Africa’s public health system as doctors compete for a limited number of funded training posts. Some local doctors are working without salaries for extended periods to gain the clinical experience required to qualify as specialists. Almost all of the clinical training required for specialisation and sub-specialisation takes place in…
Tag: public hospitals
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Helen Joseph Hospital Staffing Crisis Disrupts Emergency Care
The staffing crisis at Helen Joseph Hospital in Johannesburg has renewed fears over patient safety while spotlighting how Gauteng manages its public healthcare workers. Trauma unit head Dr Patricia Saffy issued a notice on 6 August 2026 advising certain patients to seek emergency care elsewhere. She acted on concerns over unpaid medical staff after doctors stopped reporting for duty. Reports…
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Cancer Heat Therapy: R57m Public Health Rollout
A R57 million funding drive could determine whether a South African cancer treatment is adopted in the public healthcare system. Cancer heat therapy has been shown to improve survival and reduce long-term costs. Dr Carrie Minnaar, a South African researcher specialising in oncologic hyperthermia, is leading plans to install six modulated electro-hyperthermia (mEHT) devices at three public hospitals over the…
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Public Health System Shows Signs of Progress
Most South Africans are familiar with the pressures facing public healthcare. These issues are often discussed within the broader context of the Public Health System. Patients often spend hours in clinic waiting rooms. Families struggle to secure treatment for relatives. Hospitals face overcrowding, medicine shortages and administrative failures. These experiences create an understandable impression that the system is collapsing. Service…
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Hospital CEO Vacancies Raise Governance Concerns
More than 50 public hospitals across South Africa are operating without permanent chief executives. The issue of hospital CEO vacancies is raising concerns about leadership, accountability, and patient services in an already-strained health system. Provincial health departments have blamed budget pressures, austerity measures and controls on employee compensation. These constraints have delayed the appointment of permanent senior managers. Acting executives…
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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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Childhood Cancer Diagnosis: The Impact of Delayed Treatment
South Africa diagnoses too few children with cancer, a gap that experts say costs lives. In the Cape Town metro, the Western Cape health department estimates that clinicians diagnose about 100 children under 15 with cancer each year. Rates are broadly stable, but case numbers are rising with population growth. Nationally, the Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA) estimates that…
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Medical Negligence Compensation Reform Impacts on Budgets
South Africa’s system for compensating victims of medical negligence is under severe pressure. Nowhere is that clearer than in the Eastern Cape. The province paid out more than R630m in medical negligence claims in the 2024/25 financial year. That is about 2% of its R30.1bn budget. The Eastern Cape governent didn’t plan for these payouts, and the result is predictable.…
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Gauteng Hospital Overcrowding: MEC Denial Sparks Backlash
Gauteng Hospital Overcrowding is one of the pressing issues facing Gauteng’s public health system and is contributing to its credibility problem. It is not only about beds, wards, or staffing. It is also about how leadership responds when patients and clinicians describe conditions that feel unsafe and undignified. This week, Gauteng health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko pushed back against claims that…
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Afrox Unpaid Invoices: Lawsuit Exposes Provincial Health Debt
African Oxygen (Afrox), a major supplier of medical gases to South Africa’s state hospitals, has taken the national and provincial health departments to court over R360m in unpaid invoices, some dating back to 2017. The High Court action in Pretoria signals a deepening payment crisis across provincial health systems and raises fresh concerns about the stability of public hospital supply…
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Unplaced doctors and overwork plague the health system
Within the walls of South Africa’s public hospitals, an unseen struggle unfolds daily. This reveals a healthcare system burdened by persistent challenges and standing at a critical juncture. A collaborative, systemic approach is essential to ensure its survival for millions of South Africans. Central to this crisis is the stark inequality in access to healthcare. While newly qualified doctors graduate…