Dunedin Hospital

Dunedin Hospital's ninth operating theatre is expected to increase available surgical time by 40 hours a week, the Southern District Health Board says.

Dunedin Hospital is performing colonoscopies on Saturdays to clear the backlog.

The crucial role mentors play helping new nurses fit in has been highlighted at Dunedin Hospital.

Poor access to surgery forces the renal service into a ''vicious cycle'' in which patients are not always prepared surgically for home dialysis, which then pressures hospital services, Dunedin Hospital nephrologist Dr John Schollum said yesterday.

The Dunedin Hospital doctor, whose name is suppressed, was brought before the Medical Council's professional conduct committee after the female patient complained about the doctor's relationship with her former civil union partner.

District health boards that invested in hospital kitchens in recent years might have to take a ''hit'' for the greater good, as moves are made to outsource meals to a single private provider, Southern District Health Board deputy chairman Paul Menzies says.

The chairman of the Crown-owned health entity behind moves to centralise the production of hospital meals says his experience in the fast-food restaurant and supermarket sectors means he knows about safe food systems and quality control.

Dunedin Hospital's kitchen could be significantly downgraded if the Government decides to outsource the hospital food service to a single provider.

The new head of Dunedin Hospital's emergency department (ED) says a lack of adequate staff over the past couple of years left her ''terrified'' at times that a patient would die.

The Southern District Health Board says it is able to accommodate a French-built ventilation unit made to the wrong specifications for its new operating theatre in Dunedin Hospital.