Mike Houlahan

The family of a Balclutha mother of two who died in Christchurch Hospital after being transferred from Dunedin for neurosurgery treatment is calling on the SDHB to urgently address a shortage of surgeons.

The waiting list for radiation oncology treatment is not just about numbers, it is about people living with anxiety and uncertainty.

The maternity plan which led to the SDHB downgrading service at Lumsden Maternity Centre was based on incorrect catchment data, a midwife academic says.

The SDHB has all but conceded defeat on recruiting an additional neurosurgeon for Dunedin from within New Zealand.

Parliament's health select committee has again deferred a decision on a petition on the future of Lumsden Maternity Centre, debating the matter while at the same time a local woman was giving birth at the facility.

An emergency birth in Lumsden today is the fourth since the town's maternity centre was downgraded in April.

Dunedin North National list MP Michael Woodhouse has been promoted to No 10 in the party rankings and made associate finance spokesman.

A major rail funding package pledges to replace KiwiRail's aged South Island locomotive fleet and 900 flat-top container wagons, but there's no guarantee of future work for Dunedin's Hillside workshop.

A controversial change of epilepsy drug funding could see her and thousands of other people with epilepsy lose their quality of life and livelihoods, a Brighton woman fears.