Cancelled Qantas flights affect resort
Cancelled Qantas flights affect resort
Two Qantas flights at Queenstown Airport were cancelled yesterday as the airline grounded planes, preventing plane-loads of passengers from flying.
Eileen Goodwin
After-hours health care to be free for under-6s
After-hours health care to be free for under-6s
The Government plans to extend free health care for children aged under 6 to after-hours services, costing about $7 million a year.
Pact pay dispute to enter mediation
Pact pay dispute to enter mediation
An industrial dispute involving community care workers is to enter mediation early next month while union members drop bans on paperwork and sleepovers.
SDHB plans to audit use of ECT
SDHB plans to audit use of ECT
The Southern District Health Board will audit its use of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) to reassure people the controversial treatment is being used appropriately.
Lockout over paperwork ban 'scare tactics': union
Lockout over paperwork ban 'scare tactics': union
Locking out union members for taking part in a paperwork ban is "scare tactics" against low-wage workers who cannot afford not to be paid, Service and Food Workers Union (SFWU) Otago organiser Ann Galloway says.
Review to focus on GP turnover and burnout
Review to focus on GP turnover and burnout
"Concerning" rates of GP turnover and burnout in rural areas will be addressed in a review of after-hours care, Southern Primary Health Organisation chief executive Ian Macara says.
Mental health blueprint update
Mental health blueprint update
The head of funding at the Southern District Health Board has welcomed possible changes to how mental health is funded, while a Dunedin advocate warns the new direction appears to signal cuts.
Information sought on police station changes
Information sought on police station changes
The Chalmers Community Board wants to know more about plans to change the status of the Port Chalmers police station.
Workers risking lockout: Pact
Workers risking lockout: Pact
Intellectual disability and mental-health services provider Pact says it may lock out staff taking part in industrial action because it risks client safety.
Measles caught after Auckland visit
Measles caught after Auckland visit
A University of Otago student at Cumberland College in Dunedin has contracted measles after the visit of an infected Wellington student late last month.
Multi-union deal complex
Multi-union deal complex
The union advocate who led the failed bid for a huge multi-union health pay deal is unsure whether she would recommend the ambitious attempt again.
Powell's tenure at PHO ends
Powell's tenure at PHO ends
The departing chairman of delay-ridden Southern Primary Health Organisation has criticised the Southern District Health Board for a tendency to "micro-manage".
Quality meals a tribute to Sarah
Quality meals a tribute to Sarah
Dunedin Hospital patient meals were "almost a reason to go to hospital", chef Bevan Smith declared yesterday after tasting them.
Staff split on Maori health plan
Staff split on Maori health plan
A Southern District Health Board proposal to set up a Maori health "directorate" is an example of a "management fad" for reorganising staff, a Dunedin union organiser says.
GI: all in the way you hold your mouth?
GI: all in the way you hold your mouth?
Spud lovers can relax.
Weight surgery grows in the South
Weight surgery grows in the South
More weight-loss operations are being carried out in the South, and now for the first time at both Southland Hospital and Dunedin Hospital.
Workshops on mental health
Workshops on mental health
A mental-health first-aid programme launched this week is a New Zealand first, its Dunedin developer says.
Clinicians told to embrace 'messiness of life'
Clinicians told to embrace 'messiness of life'
Embrace the "messiness of life" and drop "arbitrary" health targets, a healthcare improvement expert from the United States told clinicians, managers, and board members at Dunedin Hospital yesterday.
Sleepovers could be 'significant' cost
Sleepovers could be 'significant' cost
The Southern District Health Board's exposure to the multimillion-dollar sleepover settlement is "potentially significant", finance and funding general manager Robert Mackway-Jones told board members on Thursday.
Care workers acting to protest 1% offer
Care workers acting to protest 1% offer
Pact care workers will take industrial action this month to protest a 1% wage offer.