Ongoing industrial action by radiographers is described in a report to the Southern District Health Board's hospitals' advisory committee as "severely impacting" on breast screening numbers.
Dunedin Hospital's end-of-year report card on progress in reducing emergency department waiting times would say "needs to try harder", national clinical director of emergency department services Prof Mike Ardagh says.
Figures released in the State Services Commission annual report showing Southern District Health Board chief executive Brian Rousseau's remuneration reached $500,000 last financial year are about $10,000 too high, he says.
Work has begun on a quality plan for the Southern District Health Board, but it will take some time as the newly-merged board is still "trying to find itself as one organisation", quality and risk manager Catherine Rae says.
One of the issues would be reaching agreement on what should be included in the plan.
If you had to rank 14 health treatments ranging from hip replacements to drugs for erectile dysfunction according to their benefit or value to society, how would you do it?
It is not clear who will see the draft report of the South Island neurosurgery services panel when it reaches the Southern District Health Board for fact-checking.
The answers to shortening the length of stay for patients in Dunedin Hospital's emergency department lie largely outside that part of the hospital, emergency specialist Dr Tim Kerruish says.
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Christchurch Hospital's already stretched intensive-care unit would struggle to cope with extra patients if all neurosurgery went to Canterbury, clinical leader of Dunedin Hospital's intensive-care unit Mike Hunter says.
Reducing Otago dental therapists' leave by 23 days and increasing hours of work to 40 a week are among contentious changes proposed by the Southern District Health Board.
Southland Hospital is one of seven sites selected to participate in a new programme to improve the productivity of operating theatres.
Concerns raised by the Otago Daily Times about the the Ministry of Health's refusal to provide a privacy impact assessment on the B4 School programme have shown up anomalies which the Office of the Ombudsmen is to raise with the Privacy Commissioner.
A call for greater involvement by Dunedin Hospital emergency department leadership in exploring all possible solutions to long stays for patients has been made by Southern District Health Board chief executive Brian Rousseau.
Emphasis on quality in United States hospitals means patients can compare the safety records of individual doctors and hospitals online before choosing where to be treated, visiting post anaesthetic care nurse specialist from Texas, Pam Windle, says.
Overall compliance with hand-hygiene practices in eight areas of Dunedin Hospital improved by about 20% over five months, special audits show.
A two-day Dunedin conference attracting 120 post-anaesthetic care nurses reflects the emerging recognition of this nursing specialty, one of the organisers, Shirley Fraser, says.
A survey of some of the hand-washing facilities in 68 South Island primary schools found that only about 20% complied with three Ministry of Education standards.
Dunedin Hospital's emergency department specialists are "probably consuming a lot of paracetamol" because they have been "banging their heads against a brick wall for so long", Association of Salaried Medical Specialists executive director Ian Powell says.
Dunedin Hospital's stretched emergency department needs an urgent multimillion-dollar makeover and more staff, department clinical leader Dr John Chambers says.
Concern that people on the clinical review team looking at the future of Lakes District Hospital services may not move towards a resolution has been raised by Southern District Health Board member Fiona McArthur.
