Loans causing difficulty
Loans causing difficulty
As the recession bites, people on low incomes continue to get into financial strife after being lent money they have no chance of repaying, a Dunedin budget adviser says.
Elspeth McLean
FHPV vaccination plan uptake near complete
FHPV vaccination plan uptake near complete
Only three Otago schools, with small numbers of eligible girls, have declined to take part in this year's school-based vaccination programme against the human papillomavirus (HPV).
Thomson to be the lone casualty
Thomson to be the lone casualty
Otago District Board chairman Richard Thomson will be the only person to lose his job over the $16.9 million defrauding of the board, Health Minister Tony Ryall indicated yesterday.
Chin disappointed at Thomson decision
Chin disappointed at Thomson decision
Dunedin Mayor Peter Chin says he is disappointed at the way sacked ODHB Richard Thomson was dealt with.
Let situation settle, says chief nurse
Let situation settle, says chief nurse
While concerns remain about the lack of consultation over her appointment, new Otago Southland regional chief nurse and midwifery officer Leanne Samuel says everyone needs to give the new situation time to settle.
Woollies, not bullies; weave nothing to lose
Woollies, not bullies; weave nothing to lose
Jumping on bandwagons is all very well, but in these troubled times does it make sense to join the band which is playing songs that are not only dated, but were slightly off-key in the first place?
Health sector welcomes voluntary bonding
Health sector welcomes voluntary bonding
The Government's voluntary bonding scheme for health professionals has been welcomed by those in the sector, but there is caution against seeing the programme as the only answer to staff retention issues.
7 serious mistakes by ODHB
7 serious mistakes by ODHB
A surgical item not removed after an abdominal operation and a patient being wrongly told her screening mammogram was clear were among seven serious medical mistakes reported at the Otago District Health Board in the year to last June.
Travel costs dilemma for boards
Travel costs dilemma for boards
Costs related to staff travel between Otago and Southland district health boards total $812,901 a year, much of it in lost working time.
Straight talking Thomson has few regrets
Straight talking Thomson has few regrets
He cannot help himself. Richard Thomson does not want to talk about the fraud in our interview, but lets slip that he has ventured into, for him, the previously unknown waters of blogging, answering points raised by some of his detractors over his sacking.
Hospital may add shops
Hospital may add shops
More shops may be established in Dunedin Hospital foyer to provide services to patients, staff and visitors, and boost Otago District Health Board funds.
Well-chosen words in Otago waiting rooms
Well-chosen words in Otago waiting rooms
Patients who like a few well-chosen words to help the medicine go down are in luck in many Dunedin doctors' surgeries.
Selected for disability committee
Selected for disability committee
Two community representatives have been appointed to the Otago and Southland district health boards' disability support advisory committee, a year after its inception.
House prices, sales drop in Otago
House prices, sales drop in Otago
Median prices and house sales were down in Otago last month, in common with most of the country, but this did not signal doom and gloom in the southern market, Dunedin district Real Estate Institute president Stephen Johnston said.
Hospital's staff rights code ready
Hospital's staff rights code ready
A draft of a staff rights document for the 3000 employees of the Otago District Health Board is expected to be approved later this month.
Pharmacy report listed for closed-session talks
Pharmacy report listed for closed-session talks
A report analysing the feedback on the Otago and Southland District Health Boards' options for changing the way community medicines are funded is set to be considered behind closed doors.
Stadium marketing claims ruled misleading by ASA
Stadium marketing claims ruled misleading by ASA
Some wording in direct marketing material for the Otago stadium has been ruled exaggerated and misleading to the consumer by the Advertising Standards Authority.
Beliefs on teenage sexuality challenged
Beliefs on teenage sexuality challenged
The view that teenagers are creatures who cannot be trusted to make sensible sexual decisions because their hormones are raging out of control is being challenged by Dunedin Family Planning health promoter Gayna Halkett.
Opposition supports Thomson
Opposition supports Thomson
Sacking Otago District Health Board chairman Richard Thomson would have convicted fraud Michael Swann "sitting in his prison cell grinning from ear to ear", Dunedin North Labour MP Pete Hodgson suggested in Parliament yesterday.
Fraud fees defended
Fraud fees defended
The $1.3 million spent by the Otago District Health Board on legal expenses and costs related to protecting assets to date, after the $16.9 million fraud, needs to be seen in context, board chairman Richard Thomson says.
Some of the money spent had been on securing assets which would be the subject of a civil claim yet to be dealt with in the High Court at Dunedin, he said.