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Joan van Dyk on Muck Rack

Joan van Dyk

Johannesburg, South Africa
As seen in: MSN South Africa, The Guardian, Yahoo Canada, Modern Wellness, News24, News24 Business, AOL UK, TimesLIVE, AllAfrica, Bizcommunity and
Independent South African health journalist. Bylines at @SpotlightNSP, @dailymaverick, @guardian & GroundUp. Former @Bhekisisa_MG news editor.
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Articles

Can SA’s new Director-General for health turn around a struggling department?

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By Joan van Dyk, Sue Segar, Elna Schutz, Elna Schütz
| Spotlight NSP
Dr Thembisile Xulu is the newly-appointed Director General of the National Department of Health. (Photo: Denvor de Wee/Spotlight) Comment & Analysis 11th September 2026 | Spotlight Dr Thembisile Xulu is South Africa’s sixth permanent Director-General of health since the dawn of democracy. How will she measure up against her predecessors? In recent months, we’ve been keeping an especially close eye on the media statements following the twice-monthly meetings of South Africa’s cabinet.
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Exploited and exhausted, SA’s ghost doctors start to rattle their chains

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By Joan van Dyk
| The Lead (Podcast) Verified
For years, hospitals have relied on the unpaid, unprotected labour of trainee-specialists to fill their rosters, but these doctors are reaching a breaking point. The volunteer specialists Spotlight interviewed suggest they often endure toxic hierarchies, bullying and administrative neglect. One exhausted trainee specialist said: “We have to fix the medical system, it’s broken.
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South Africa: Exploited and Exhausted, South Africa's Ghost Doctors Start to Rattle Their Chains

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By Joan van Dyk
| AllAfrica
For years, hospitals have relied on the unpaid, unprotected labour of trainee-specialists to fill their rosters, but these doctors are reaching a breaking point. Across South Africa's public sector hospitals, a growing number of aspiring specialists are choosing to work for free -- sometimes for years at a time -- in pursuit of the coveted title.
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