TB man’s shirt too nice for a grant
South Africa has disability grants but a doctor deemed his tuberculosis patient was not poor enough.
Light at the end of the scalpel for more targeted brain surgery
A brave little girl inspired a new ‘tumour paint’ to indicate to surgeons which tissue to remove.
Sometimes your locks run out
Alopecia or hair loss can devastate your self-esteem, unless you hold your head up high.
The man who can’t smell the roses – or his daughter
Loss of this sense affects taste and also damages a person’s sense of emotional place in the world.
Independent pharmacies take on medical aid ‘bullies’
Community chemists say racial profiling and gated network are putting them out of business.
Cuffed for no crime, kicked to the kerb
Instead of the care she sought, a vulnerable patient found further distress in a PE hospital.
Public health suffers if vaccines are not accessible
A Western Cape project is looking to make free vaccines available in private clinics, but the Eastern Cape has stopped the practice.
Man to man, sexual health needs are better met at male-only clinics
A centre employing only men has opened in Khayelitsha to address the needs of males uneasy about being seen at mixed-gender facilities.
It’s a nightmare when mental health medicine runs out
Mental health patients in Johannesburg's East Rand are hard hit by the unavailability of medication.
Drug shortages send rural patients back to home remedies
The minister insists there is no problem, but too many health centre cupboards are bare.
The high cost of being bipolar
Patients are subject to wild mood swings and costly spending sprees,but they can be treated with the right medicine - and a lot of money.
Meet the Khayelitsha compliers club
Communities are bringing HIV monitoring and dispensing out of the clinics and into their homes.
Drug shortages ‘imperil NHI plan’
A quarter of public clinics ran out of HIV and TB medication last year, a survey has found.
When the long wait for treatment turns deadly
Johannes Mnguni believes his wife would still be alive if a Mpumalanga clinic had done its job.
Washable pads have the potential to bring dignity to all women
Reusable sanitary towels are cheaper than regular pads and tampons but the state is failing to distribute these to schoolgirls from poor families.
A fist and a hard place
Some women find it hard to leave their abusers for economic and emotional reasons and feel 'stuck' in their situation.