SDHB may opt out of breast screening
SDHB may opt out of breast screening
The Southern District Health Board may opt out of running Otago and Southland's breast-screening service.
Eileen Goodwin
Health programme succeeds
Health programme succeeds
More than half the newly released prisoners in a health pilot were still enrolled with a GP six months after it ended, exceeding the expectation of programme co-ordinator Susie Lawless.
Committee to meet more often
Committee to meet more often
The community and public health committee will have more prominence in the next Southern District Health Board term, board members heard at this month's meeting in Oamaru.
SDHB supports Cook Islands nursing
SDHB supports Cook Islands nursing
A visit to Rarotonga to help nurses there may be the start of a long-term support relationship between the Southern District Health Board and Cook Islands nursing.
No basis for bleak economic view: PM
No basis for bleak economic view: PM
It was easy to talk down the local economy, but the evidence did not back it up, Prime Minister John Key told Scott Technology workers in Dunedin yesterday.
More seek help earlier
More seek help earlier
People who fear they have Alzheimer's disease are increasingly seeking help earlier in the course of the illness, Alzheimer's Society Otago manager Julie Butler says.
'Limited future', but Paul has high hopes
'Limited future', but Paul has high hopes
Leukaemia sufferer Paul Highton says nothing more can be done for him medically, and is blunt about his ''limited future''.
Smoker assistance sought
Smoker assistance sought
Patients compelled to stop smoking must have a high level of intervention and support when they leave Wakari Hospital, Southern District Health Board member Richard Thomson says.
Fertility service outsourcing taken off agenda
Fertility service outsourcing taken off agenda
A discussion on the fate of the Otago Fertility Service was taken off the agenda of this week's Southern District Health Board meeting.
Vote for full smoking ban
Vote for full smoking ban
Locked-in Wakari Hospital mental health patients will no longer be exempt from Southern District Health Board's smoking ban, the board's hospital advisory committee decided yesterday.
Smoking policy 'not tenable'
Smoking policy 'not tenable'
Allowing mental health patients to smoke on hospital grounds suggests to them they are second-class citizens whose health does not matter, a staff proposal to a Southern District Health Board committee says.
Hospital sorry for failings
Hospital sorry for failings
Dunedin Hospital has apologised to the Otago Association for Deaf Children for ignoring its concerns about audiology failings.
Cannabis laws not helping - health workers
Cannabis laws not helping - health workers
The legal status of cannabis puts a ''massive block'' between client and clinician, Pact mental health clinical leader Matthew Peppercorn told a cannabis public forum at Dunedin Hospital.
Not talking of suicide not working: Roper
Not talking of suicide not working: Roper
New Zealand's stubbornly high suicide rate shows it is time for a serious rethink, Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists Community Member Graham Roper says.
Rest-home role advocated
Rest-home role advocated
Relatives should take an active role in the care of family members in rest-homes, and not just leave them alone, the author of a new book about choosing a home says.
Health panel dead: Hague
Health panel dead: Hague
A national public health committee that has not met for a couple of years has effectively been unlawfully disbanded, Green Party health spokesman Kevin Hague says.
Omani medical student hopes to practise in NZ
Omani medical student hopes to practise in NZ
An international medical student who has spent nearly a decade studying in Dunedin says he is not ready to give up his goal of obtaining registration as a doctor in this country.
Trend for GPs not to encourage PSA testing in men
Trend for GPs not to encourage PSA testing in men
A growing number of GPs will not initiate discussion of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing with male patients, research published yesterday in the New Zealand Medical Journal concludes.
Thousands could join class action
Thousands could join class action
Thousands of caregivers will be invited to join a class action in the wake of a court judgement clearing the way for a challenge on the basis of gender discrimination, Service and Food Workers' Union national secretary John Ryall says.
Doctors' fees for children under fire
Doctors' fees for children under fire
Wide variations in the cost of a child's appointment with a doctor are ''obscene'', and the medical fraternity should agree a city-wide price, Salvation Army Dunedin Community Ministries manager Lindsay Andrews says.