Bhekisisa TV

Our Health Beat team takes you on a tour of some Gauteng hospital success stories — from an NHI-like project, the Chiawelo Community Practice in Soweto, to the lifesaving cardiothoracic surgery unit at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital.

Compromise isn’t a word favoured by the Health Minister, Aaron Motsoaledi, when it comes to rolling out universal healthcare, despite objections from some of the ANC’s coalition partners. Mia Malan sits down with Motsoaledi to find out how he plans to deliver National Health Insurance amid legal challenges, little money and a system that needs fundamental fixing.

Has psychiatric care in our government health system improved eight years after Life Esidimeni during which 141 mental health patients died because of negligence? Health Beat visits a community mental health organisation, talks to Section27, the Gauteng government and a counselling organisation, Heal SA, to find out.

Social development budgets in Gauteng have been steadily declining, from R2.13-billion in 2022/2023 to R1.9-billion this year. Non-profit organisations say funding they’ve relied on for years is halted without adequate explanation, leaving some of them with no option but to close, and residents with no alternative care.

Section 24 of the Constitution says all South Africans have the right to clean and safe living environments. But if they’re not getting that, to whom do they turn in the face of illegal dumping, toxic waste, sluggish local government and politicians chasing the popular vote? Health Beat finds out.

From struggles and scandals to feats and forward thinking — South Africa’s health system has seen it all over the past 30 years. In this month’s Health Beat, we ask public officials, activists, health workers, legal experts and ordinary citizens to look back on how things have changed — and what it means for the future of healthcare in the country.

In theory, the National Health Insurance (NHI) could transform our failing healthcare system. But, many South Africans have little faith in the politicians who are supposed to look after the public purse. We take a look at how the residents of Tembisa cope with the results of corruption at their hospital, the systems that private medical aid schemes have in place to curb fraud, and how the planned NHI could benefit from being more transparent.

Are e-cigarettes healthier than traditional smokes? The vaping and tobacco industries would have us believe that they are, but doctors and researchers are sceptical. We find out why young people are getting hooked on nicotine-enhanced fruity flavours — and break down the potentially deadly consequences.

Do you start your days feeling exhausted after going to bed early? You may have sleep apnoea, a condition where breathing stops for periods during sleep. This Health Beat episode shows how sleep disorders can affect your state of mind as well as your physical health, and experts tell us what can be done without expensive treatment.

Since fewer people are using condoms, we need more ways to prevent HIV. HIV prevention pills are free at government clinics, but the catch is that you have to take them every day. A two-monthly jab and monthly vaginal ring could change the game, but can the state afford them? Watch this Health Beat episode to find out.

A hotter Earth is a threat to human health. It means more floods, droughts and heatwaves, which in turn make many diseases spread faster. Higher temperatures also exacerbate air pollution, resulting in more damage to our lungs. In this Health Beat episode we show you why climate change is our next pandemic.

People with HIV get depressed more often than those without the virus. This can make it hard to take their daily, lifelong medication correctly. In this Health Beat episode, we visit someone who has been taking ARVs for 22 years and ask experts if allowing nurses to prescribe antidepressants would help.

Cervical cancer affects more Black women in South Africa than any other race. Why? They mostly use state health facilities which means less screening and delayed surgeries. In this month's Health Beat, we find out why cervical cancer is a political disease and travel to a Tshwane clinic where a nurse is convincing parents to get their girls vaccinated against this type of cancer.

About two in five wastewater systems in South Africa are falling apart. Their dysfunction has disastrous effects. It exposes people to dirty water that can carry diseases like cholera. This episode of our monthly television show, Health Beat, looks at water safety and explores how climate change makes disease-causing germs spread faster.

Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital’s radiation waiting list gets longer each year because of too few staff to operate life-saving cancer equipment. This episode of our monthly television show, Health Beat, puts these problems to the health department. Mia Malan asks if the National Health Insurance scheme can fix the country’s broken health system.

When health workers discriminate against people with a higher chance of getting HIV, the virus spreads like wildfire because such groups become less likely to use health facilities. Our Health Beat team asked transgender people about the service they get at government clinics and the health department about what happens to a doctor or nurse who refuses to help patients.