Top health official to step down
The country's top health official is quitting. Ministry of Health director-general Chai Chuah said yesterday he would leave early next year, less than three years into a five-year term.
Health
'Get back to basics and do the medicine'
'Get back to basics and do the medicine'
The planning and implementation of the urology super-clinic at Dunedin Hospital should be a lesson to those at the top, writes Calvin Oaten.
Baby dies after C-section bumped
Baby dies after C-section bumped
A baby died during birth after the mother was bumped from her elective caesarean at least once because an emergency C-section took priority.
Medical schools jolted into action
Medical schools jolted into action
The bid by Waikato District Health Board and Waikato University for a medical school has greatly perturbed Otago and Auckland universities, writes Eileen Goodwin.
Authority chokes on restricting food ads
Authority chokes on restricting food ads
Britain is adopting a ``ban'' on junk food advertising to children, just as a New Zealand authority has choked on a similar rule proposed here.
Tackling malnutrition among Aust elderly
Tackling malnutrition among Aust elderly
'Tis the season to be jolly and tackle the hidden health issue of malnutrition among older Australians, says the peak body for dietitians.
Go nuts, stay healthy
Go nuts, stay healthy
Eating a handful of nuts every day will help prevent premature death as well as stave off a wide variety of diseases, a new study has found.
Free eye exam saves 11-year-old girl's life
Free eye exam saves 11-year-old girl's life
A young girl has retail chain Specsavers to thank after one of its optometrists discovered a life-threatening cyst near her brain during a free eye exam.
Free GP visits, scrips surprise
Free GP visits, scrips surprise
Free GP visits and prescriptions for children under 13 was the surprise feature of the health announcements in yesterday's Budget.
Fresh look at old remedies likely
Fresh look at old remedies likely
More interest in alternative remedies is likely to feature in a post-antibiotic world, a University of Otago infectious diseases authority says.
Health system 'under stress'
Health system 'under stress'
The Southern District Health Board has been the focus of close attention this week, with concerns expressed across the health sector about the population-based funding model, staffing levels,...
Patient harm concerns denied by SDHB
Patient harm concerns denied by SDHB
Details have emerged from a nurses' meeting about concerns a lack of staff in Dunedin Hospital's neonatal intensive care unit (Nicu) could be harming patients.
Questions over nursing levels
Questions over nursing levels
Concern health heads are ''robbing Nurse Betty to pay Dr Ropata'' by skimping on nurse budgets has been raised by a Southern District Health Board member.
Board not yet releasing IT findings
Board not yet releasing IT findings
The Southern District Health Board will not release preliminary findings about what caused this week's hospital IT crash for several weeks.
Fraud possibility not disclosed
Fraud possibility not disclosed
Stuart McLauchlan, the man charged with monitoring the Southern District Health Board, says he was not told of legal advice in 2010 that the South Link Health (SLH) funds dispute might involve fraud.
Forensic accountant news shock
Forensic accountant news shock
South Link Health (SLH) says it found out through reading the Otago Daily Times that the Southern District Health Board had called in a forensic accountant over what the Dunedin-based independent practitioner association believed until this week was a commercial dispute.
Comment from SDHB on audit of colonoscopy
Comment from SDHB on audit of colonoscopy
An audit of 767 people who may have had delayed or declined access to surveillance colonoscopy in Otago between 2007 and 2011 found eight had died of bowel cancer or its complications.
Equal pay case under appeal
Equal pay case under appeal
Appealing an equal pay case has put the aged care industry into an ''awkward situation'' because it would ''love'' to pay carers more, Aged Care Association Otago Southland board member Malcolm Hendry says.
Funding must follow devolution
Funding must follow devolution
A genuine conversation is needed when changes to mental health services are proposed, writes Max Reid.
Campaign promotes safe sleep for babies
Campaign promotes safe sleep for babies
Babies are suffocating and need their own safe sleeping space, University of Auckland School of Population health programme manager Keith Gell says.