On Wednesday evening, Nthabeleng Makhalema, 39, gave birth to her premature daughter at Pelonomi Hospital in Bloemfontein. Pelonomi is badly affected by the Nehawu strike, with the facility having to move some patients to nearby hospitals. A midwife, disguised as…
Despite a court interdict preventing the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) from striking today, the union went ahead with its planned protest action. In the Free State, over 3000 health workers gathered outside several hospitals in…
Bongani Regional Hospital in Welkom had to transfer critically ill patients to nearby facilities after cable theft left it without electricity for several hours last week. The provincial health department says the generator wires were also cut, so…
Nurses continued their strike action at Boitumelo Regional Hospital on Monday over safety issues, overtime and staff shortages. The nurses downed tools on Friday, leaving patients unattended and unable to get their medication. Patients who queued early in the morning…
In December, Health-e News reported on the unacceptable service patients received at Pelonomi Regional Hospital in Bloemfontein. Free State Health MEC Montsheng Tsiu has since told Health-e News that the department and hospital management will meet in search of urgent solutions. …
The Free State has been dealt another huge blow after it emerged that 13 pregnant women were forced to sleep on floors in the antenatal ward at the Pelonomi Regional Hospital in Bloemfontein. When Thembi Mgababa went to give…
 Patients seeking medical care at the Boitumelo Hospital in Maokeng, just outside Kroonstad in the Free State, have been turned away due to issues with contractors. Surgeries and other vital services have been called off until further notice. The…
Free State Health MEC, Montsheng Tsiu, has admitted the province’s ambulance-patient ratio is so poor people sometimes wait days for help. “According to the ratio in the national health guidelines, at least a single ambulance should serve 10 000 people,…
 Pregnant with her second child, 25-year-old Kea Selai hopes to raise her kids in an environment with access to health care services. Her wish, however, seems unobtainable as she and others living in Zone 1 in Thaba Nchu have…
The Mofumahadi Manapo Mopeli Regional Hospital in QwaQwa has got its naysayers out in full force following reports of old equipment and the low morale of health workers. As the walls fall in, poverty-stricken residents are too afraid to seek…
People living with HIV in the Free State have raised their grievances via the Free State Department of Health’s multi-sectoral forum held last week. Several patients have exposed shocking truths regarding their treatment at clinics across the province. Tshepo Rabotapi,…
An LGBTQI sexual violence survivor and activist is fighting tooth and nail to raise awareness about the challenges they face in their communities. Sexual violence affects every demographic in South Africa. But according to Queen Beyonce Tovhowani Makondo, lesbian, gay…
With no end to load shedding in the foreseeable future in South Africa, the community of QwaQwa was hopeful when the procurement of generators was announced. But this glimmer of hope has turned into a tunnel of darkness following the…
Free State residents are reaching the end of their tether as they search for water – life’s most basic natural resource. Clinics have also been severely affected while patients scurry to find facilities that aren’t water-stricken. The suburb of Moemaneng…
Elderly people living with Alzheimer’s and dementia face a double burden of memory loss, and stigma and discrimination. Thomas Selogilwe, who resides in Thaba Nchu, is concerned for the welfare of his 81-year-old neighbour, Magaret Molema. He was roped in…