ED refusals advocated
ED refusals advocated
Dunedin Hospital should be prepared to turn patients away if they turn up at the emergency department with minor ailments, Dr Branko Sijnja says.
Elspeth McLean
SDHB deficit cut to $6.6m
SDHB deficit cut to $6.6m
The Southern District Health Board is hoping to be $8.3 million under budget by the end of the year, slashing its expected deficit to $6.6 million.
Registration cancelled
Registration cancelled
Former Southland urologist Dr Sajan Bhatia has had his registration cancelled and been censured by the New Zealand Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal.
Health board to look at rise in hospital bed occupancy
Health board to look at rise in hospital bed occupancy
There appears to have been a "remarkable" increase in bed occupancy at Lakes District Hospital, Frankton, in the past four months, Southern District Health Board chairman Joe Butterfield says.
Hospital struggling with one acute operating theatre
Hospital struggling with one acute operating theatre
It is "nuts" that Dunedin Hospital has only one dedicated operating theatre for acute surgery when it is struggling to cope with the demand, Vivian Blake says.
High Caesarean rate scrutinised
High Caesarean rate scrutinised
Analysis of Dunedin Hospital's recent high Caesarean section rate showed there were strong clinical reasons for using the surgical procedure, midwifery director Jenny Humphries says.
Shorter emergency stays
Shorter emergency stays
Staying times at Dunedin Hospital's emergency department will be 12% improved by the end of next month, a report to go to the Southern District Health Board says.
Know the answer to Don's PR woes? I do ...
Know the answer to Don's PR woes? I do ...
Don, Don, Don. Forgive me if I remind you of Mum, but you really need to sort yourself out.
Workshop on health plans
Workshop on health plans
The Ministry of Health's integrated family health centre (IFHC) team will hold a workshop with Southern District Health Board management and clinicians this month to discuss Wakatipu health services.
Doctors' pay an obstacle
Doctors' pay an obstacle
Spending on salaries is proving a sticking point for the senior doctors' union and district health boards after months working on ways to ensure more specialists stay in New Zealand.
Neurosurgery applications to be shortlisted
Neurosurgery applications to be shortlisted
Applications have been received for both recently advertised Dunedin-based neurosurgeon positions, but nobody is saying how many.
Call to proceed with cancer pilot
Call to proceed with cancer pilot
The Ministry of Health should proceed with existing plans for its bowel cancer screening pilot and at this stage it should not include flexible sigmoidoscopy (FS), the Gastroenterology Society says.
Queries over bowel cancer testing
Queries over bowel cancer testing
Although the United Kingdom is adding flexible sigmoidoscopy (FS) to its bowel cancer screening programme, it is not yet clear how it will work, a visiting UK screening specialist says.
Harbour Cone plan may take some years
Harbour Cone plan may take some years
Developing a plan for the Dunedin City Council's Harbour Cone block may have taken several years, but it was important to "get it right", Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull says.
No leads on how extra electives will be done
No leads on how extra electives will be done
The response to the National Health Board's call for hospitals to do 4000 extra elective procedures in three months and the likely cost has not yet been revealed.
Protocols' secrecy queried
Protocols' secrecy queried
There is a risk secrecy around proposed protocols for the newborn metabolic screening programme could undermine trust in the scheme, principal investigator of the Human Genome Research Project Prof Mark Henaghan says.
Cosying up with Gerry Brownlee for the good of the country
Cosying up with Gerry Brownlee for the good of the country
My sports department colleagues were shocked. They are used to my petulant foul-mouthed outbursts as I cope with obstructive bureaucrats, but this was too much.
Asthma widespread among NZ children
Asthma widespread among NZ children
Estimates from the Asthma Foundation suggest more than 13,000 children in Otago and Southland have asthma.
CT procedure to help ease backlog
CT procedure to help ease backlog
The hospital has a new locum gastroenterologist due to start in July, but it already has about 200 patients with colorectal disease symptoms waiting for investigation.
Extra registrar for ED at weekend
Extra registrar for ED at weekend
An extra senior registrar has been assigned to cover weekend evening shifts at Dunedin Hospital's emergency department following recent concerns about the safety of staffing levels.