Dementia awareness pilot launched
Dementia awareness pilot launched
Helping businesses to become more dementia friendly is the aim of an Alzheimers Otago’s six-month pilot programme.
Elspeth McLean
Posting your vote
Posting your vote
Voters in the Dunedin area wanting to post their votes for the local government elections may find the post box they used last election has disappeared.
Ministry method of measuring demand questioned
Ministry method of measuring demand questioned
The Ministry of Health does not have an appropriate way to estimate the demand for colonoscopy, University of Otago epidemiologist and screening authority Associate Prof Brian Cox says.
Reluctance to release survey results uncovered
Reluctance to release survey results uncovered
Emails about a 2017 endoscopy service survey in which some Southern DHB doctors claimed patients had been harmed reveal the service manager’s dissatisfaction with the recent damning independent review. Elspeth McLean reports.
Free rein in review of service
Free rein in review of service
The man brought in to help resolve longstanding differences involving the Southern District Health Board's gastroenterology service has been given a free rein.
Teething issues on cycleway
Teething issues on cycleway
Lines will be painted around garden plots on the shared cycleway between Portobello and Broad Bay to make the gardens easier to see in the dark, the DCC says.
Many factors contribute to low voter turnout
Many factors contribute to low voter turnout
Telling people off for not voting isn't the way to boost voter turnout in elections, University of Otago politics professor Janine Hayward says.
Conservation Week activity starts Monday
Conservation Week activity starts Monday
People keen to get involved in conservation but not sure where to start may get some ideas from the Conservation Week exhibition at the Otago Museum next week.
Vaccinations encouraged
Vaccinations encouraged
People born between 1970 and 1990 are being encouraged to check whether they have been vaccinated against measles, in the wake of an increasing number of cases of the disease in New Zealand this year.
More resources needed: doctor
More resources needed: doctor
More resources are needed for colonoscopy services throughout the country, the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners' outgoing medical director Richard Medlicott says.
Relief report authors can meet minister
Relief report authors can meet minister
Christchurch surgeon Phil Bagshaw is relieved Health Minister David Clark will meet him next week to discuss the recent report into colonoscopy access and colorectal cancer management in the Southern DHB region.
Gastroenterology Society offers help with colonoscopy demand
Gastroenterology Society offers help with colonoscopy demand
The New Zealand Gastroenterology Society has offered to help Southern District Health Board staff cope with any extra demand for colonoscopy resulting from recent changes to the referral process.
First, the fighting must stop
First, the fighting must stop
The Southern District Health Board is committed to overhauling its management of colorectal cancer but it cannot do that until it sorts out the culture around the gastroenterology department, chief executive Chris Fleming says.
Report author seeks inquiry as funding to do job absent
Report author seeks inquiry as funding to do job absent
A public inquiry into colorectal cancer management by the Southern District Health Board is being called for by the co-author of a recent damning review of colonoscopy access.
'Bullying, favouritism and humiliation': Letter spells out crisis
'Bullying, favouritism and humiliation': Letter spells out crisis
Some junior doctors report being "broken" by their time in the Dunedin department of gastroenterology, according to a hard-hitting letter to the Southern District Health Board.
Expensive decision looms on landfill's future
Expensive decision looms on landfill's future
As the volunteer input into clearing rubbish from the Fox Glacier landfill spill winds down, a decision has yet to be made on the future of the remains of the dump.
Mission of mercy merciful renewal
Mission of mercy merciful renewal
ODT columnist Elspeth McLean reflects on her rubbish holiday at Fox Glacier volunteering in help clean the mess after severe March rain dislodged an old dump.
Response on cancer criticised
Response on cancer criticised
Southern District Health Board's response to the damning report into colonoscopy access has been slammed by the co-author of the report, Christchurch surgeon Phil Bagshaw.
Office of the Ombudsman crystal clear on advice it gave
Office of the Ombudsman crystal clear on advice it gave
Dear David, People who know me, realise I am not great with silence. If there’s a pause in a conversation, I just have to overflow into it with whatever is produced by the moths colliding in my head.
In the dark over concerns: Fleming
In the dark over concerns: Fleming
Senior doctors' claims of patient harm, aired in a 2017 internal survey, were not conveyed to him at the time, Southern District Health Board chief executive Chris Fleming says.