Young people using alcohol or other drugs before the age of 15 more than double the risk of damaging their adult health, research just published says.
More work needed to be done before a decision could be made to proceed with a feasibility study into siting all three racing codes at Wingatui racecourse, New Zealand Racing Board chief executive Graeme Hansen said in Dunedin last night.
A blind hospital patient did not receive meals because nobody told them their the meals were there, the Otago and Southland District Health Board's disability support advisory committee meeting heard yesterday.
A pilot scheme for the proposal to distribute drug funding to community pharmacies through bulk funding of primary health organisations should be explored, the Otago District Health Board was told recently.
Junior doctors have settled their long-running pay dispute with district health boards, but say they will be back at the negotiating table within a year.
It was crazy to have Otago-Southland disability support advisory committee members from Waitaki to Invercargill getting together for a monthly meeting which lasted only about an hour, Otago District Health Board chairman Richard Thomson said.
Adult mental health services provided by the Otago District Health Board are being reviewed, but any changes which may result will be about improving the service, not cost cutting, management says.
The worldwide financial crisis could be the perfect opportunity for rethinking attitudes to global health, Emeritus Professor Robert Beaglehole says.
The Otago District Health Board may be about $200 better off after at least nine pairs of crutches issued by Dunedin Hospital were returned yesterday following publicity about the high numbers of peripatetic crutches.
Some people associated with an Otago District Health Board-funded community occupational therapy workshop are upset at its planned closure and would like further investigation of alternatives, but hospital management says there is no money.
Only about half of the crutches issued by Dunedin Hospital are returned and it is costing the Otago District Health Board about $1500 a month to replace them.
If National Party plans to boost hospice government funding nationally were implemented, it could mean an extra $500,000 for the Otago Community Hospice.
Otago and Southland are not likely to see much of the $50 million boost to public cardiac surgery announced yesterday because the region's heart surgery rates are well ahead of the rest of the country.
The second increase in superannuation this year has resulted in a multimillion-dollar boost to district health board coffers which aged care providers are keen to see passed on.
With just days to go before the printed electoral rolls close for this year's general election, just over three-quarters of the youngest eligible voters throughout the country have enrolled.
The Otago District Health Board could lose a further $1.4 million this year because it is in deficit, a situation board member Dr Malcolm Macpherson describes as the stupidest thing he has come across in his whole career.
It seems likely the Otago District Health Board will have to consult with the community again over plans for school dental clinics because its original plans have proved too expensive.
Brian Rousseau's appointment yesterday as chief executive of the Otago and Southland health boards is a first for district health board management.
Althoughthe Otago District Health Board expects to save more than $800,000 by buying equipment in conjunction with Southland, chairman Richard Thomson would like to see more progress on national buying.
Seven candidates from Otago and Southland will go forward for final selection on the Labour Party list for this year's general election.
