Eastern Cape, South Africa – 14th August, 2017: The South African Medical Association (Sama), and its Eastern Cape branch, has condemned the lack of proper security at public hospitals in the province after a doctor was assaulted by a patient.

Dr Archie Solombela sustained a fracture to his right arm and a general worker was also hurt during the attack by a psyciatric patient at the Cecilia Makiwane Hospital in East London.

Australia – 26th August, 2017: WhenChristine Merrett's son was struck down with what she thought was croup that grew progressively worse, she called a home visit doctor who quickly recognized her son was having an asthma attack and rushed him to the hospital.

With emergency rooms overflowing with patients during a record-breaking flu season, there are concerns that a vital home visit service provided by doctors could be in jeopardy, affecting people like Christine and placing an additional strain on hospitals, ambulances and health care providers

London, UK – 10th August, 2017: Barbara Vavalidis had been planning a carefree retirement after decades of hard work and a busy family life. Instead she is mourning the loss of her partner of 45 years, the father of her two sons.

Stefanos Vavalidis died in London in January 2016, aged 69.

Kansas, US – 7th August, 2017: A Kansas woman is alleging in a lawsuit that Indian American pathologist Dr. Meenakshi Singh misdiagnosed her of having a pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor that led doctors to unnecessarily remove parts of her organs and then cover up the incorrect diagnosis.

The lawsuit filed this week by Wendy Ann Noon Berner, 46, of Shawnee, accuses the University of Kansas Hospital and the now-former chairwoman of the pathology department, of fraud, negligence and civil conspiracy, KCUR reported.

South Africa – 15th August, 2017: On Thursday 17 August 2017 the Constitutional Court will hear the case of MEC for Health and Social Development of the Gauteng Government v Dumile Judith Zulu obo Wandile Maqwawe Zulu. The case concerns the payment of damages following brain damage suffered by Wandile Zulu due to the negligence of staff at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital at the time of Wandile’s birth

Portland, US – 4th August, 2017: A Multnomah County jury this week awarded a married couple more than $4.5 million after the husband suffered lifelong injuries from a failed spinal surgery.

Jason Croff said Tualatin neurosurgeon Warren Roberts is responsible for what appear to be irreversible injuries: The 30-year-old can now urinate only with great difficulty and suffers from numbness to his genital area, which has seriously altered his sex life with his wife.

London, UK – 3rd August, 2017: Ian Paterson, the surgeon who performed unnecessary breast operations and made healthy patients believe they had cancer, has had his sentence increased to 20 years by the court of appeal.

The consultant, who worked in the West Midlands, appeared in court by videolink from Nottingham prison to hear the judges add another five years to his jail term.

Japan – 29th August, 2017: For working people with health issues, visiting a clinic has long meant taking hours off work on a weekday and spending more time in the waiting room than talking with a doctor.

But such days might be approaching an end. Reversing a longtime aversion, Japan is quickly embracing telemedicine, with young doctors leading the way in introducing consultations over the internet.

London, UK – 1st August, 2017: A 35-year-old Indian-origin optometrist in the UK today won an appeal against her two-year suspended jail sentence for failing to spot a life-threatening condition on a little boy that resulted in his death.

Honey Rose had performed a routine eye test on eight- year-old Vincent Barker in February 2012.