Maori health head identifies needs
Maori health head identifies needs
Asthma, smoking rates and ethnicity data collection are three areas the Southern District Health Board's new general manager for Maori health, Donovan Clarke, wants to address.
Elspeth McLean
Health services co-operation supported
Health services co-operation supported
Health services at Queenstown should not be considered in "splendid isolation", Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS) executive director Ian Powell says.
Scan waiting times 'just dire'
Scan waiting times 'just dire'
Reducing lengthy waiting times for some scans at Dunedin Hospital to an acceptable level could take six to 12 months and it will cost money, the Southern District Health Board meeting was told yesterday.
Discussion needed on health services
Discussion needed on health services
The Southern District Health Board is some way off reaching a decision about the future shape of Wakatipu health services.
Radiology wait times extending
Radiology wait times extending
Concern that patients could wait 20 months for some non-urgent scans at Dunedin Hospital was expressed at the Southern District Health Board hospitals' advisory committee.
Praise for health board's efforts
Praise for health board's efforts
Information on plans designed to improve Southern District Health Board performance was praised by board member Dr Malcolm Macpherson yesterday, but he warned of the need for consistency.
Toughen liquor laws, says board
Toughen liquor laws, says board
Local policies on the sale and consumption of alcohol should be mandatory for territorial local authorities, a hard-hitting Southern District Health Board draft submission on the Alcohol Reform Bill says.
Care of kidney-disease patients targeted
Care of kidney-disease patients targeted
Better management of kidney disease in the community is the aim of a pilot programme involving general practitioners in Otago and Southland, and Dunedin Hospital specialists.
ED project takes holistic approach
ED project takes holistic approach
"Six Hours It Matters!" is the catch-cry for Dunedin Hospital's revamped approach to finding ways to shorten the time patients spend in the emergency department.
Electronic prescribing sways staff
Electronic prescribing sways staff
An electronic prescribing pilot scheme in two Dunedin Hospital wards has been so successful it should be extended throughout the hospital, Dr Andrew Bowers says.
Value of Crown monitor queried
Value of Crown monitor queried
Former Southern District Health Board chairman Errol Millar wants to know how the $35,000 annual fee for the board's Crown monitor can be justified.
Agony of transition
Agony of transition
For those of us not old enough to be part of student life in Wellington in 1960, David McGill's account of that year in his latest work is brimming with detail of the time.
Dunstan happy to study options
Dunstan happy to study options
Further investigation of a Central Otago health services model - including Queenstown - would be welcomed by Dunstan Hospital, Russell McGeorge says.
Southern board deficit second worst
Southern board deficit second worst
As number-crunchers work out how the Southern District Health Board could break even in future, this year's budget shows its expected $14.9 million deficit is the second biggest in the country.
Birth-video ban not likely here
Birth-video ban not likely here
Moves to ban fathers-to-be from video-recording the birth of their babies in some Australian hospitals seem unlikely to be copied in New Zealand hospitals.
Snow injuries 'drain' on hospital resources
Snow injuries 'drain' on hospital resources
Treating and transporting skiers and snowboarders admitted to Southland Hospital with serious injuries in 2009 cost at least about $550,000, a study by an orthopaedic registrar shows.
Start soon on filling neurosurgery job
Start soon on filling neurosurgery job
It was good to see members at the South Island Neurosurgical Service's inaugural governance board meeting in Wellington yesterday had "clearly put the past behind them", National Health Board deputy director Michael Hundleby says.
More could see documentary
More could see documentary
A successful London showing of the acclaimed Donated to Science documentary featuring University of Otago medical students undertaking anatomy training on cadavers may lead to wider distribution of the film.
Proud Facebook virgin still dedicated to the pen and paper
Proud Facebook virgin still dedicated to the pen and paper
When she enthusiastically asked if I was on Facebook she was not to know I have resisted every "innovation" with any whiff of technology since I was about 11, with the possible exception of the ballpoint pen.
Feedback sought on sale of land
Feedback sought on sale of land
Anyone concerned about the Southern District Health Board's proposed disposal of 4.8211ha of land behind staff accommodation in Kew Rd, Invercargill, has until tomorrow to make a submission.