Cost-cutting decisions scrutinised
Cost-cutting decisions scrutinised
Just who is driving urgent cost-cutting at the Southern District Health Board was under scrutiny yesterday as the board mulled its parlous financial position.
SDHB
Postsurgery help a touchy topic
Postsurgery help a touchy topic
Lives are saved every day at Dunedin Hospital. But are the surgeons' scalpels being blunted by a lack of help at home afterwards, or are community expectations too high? Nigel Benson and Eileen Goodwin report.
Home helper database mooted
Home helper database mooted
A volunteer database has been mooted to help elderly people who are struggling with housework after medical treatment.
SDHB puts sharper focus on cost-cutting
SDHB puts sharper focus on cost-cutting
The Southern District Health Board has rejigged top staff to allow two senior executives to focus solely on cost reduction.
Health board seeks input on strategic plan
Health board seeks input on strategic plan
The Southern District Health Board is undertaking a wide-reaching planning exercise for the next decade, which will be used to help plan the Dunedin Hospital rebuild.
Single-digit mistake causes massive IT crash
Single-digit mistake causes massive IT crash
A single incorrect digit entered into a computer system caused the massive IT crash in southern hospitals in February, a report from the Southern District Health Board says.
Kitchen staff demand answers from SDHB
Kitchen staff demand answers from SDHB
Fourteen months after a controversial plan was revealed, southern hospital kitchen staff have demanded answers about their jobs at a Southern District Health Board meeting in Dunedin.
$1.75 million hospital leak fix approved
$1.75 million hospital leak fix approved
The Southern District Health Board has approved a $1.75 million repair job to fix Dunedin Hospital's seven-storey clinical services building.
Waiting list 'just crazy'
Waiting list 'just crazy'
Waiting up to a year for an ultrasound in the South is ''incomprehensible'', Dunedin South MP Clare Curran says.
Up to $1.75m to fix leaks
Up to $1.75m to fix leaks
Southern District Health Board members will consider a request for up to $1.75 million to fix the leaking clinical services building at Dunedin Hospital when they meet in Dunedin tomorrow.
SDHB gets permission to sell buildings
SDHB gets permission to sell buildings
Health Minister Tony Ryall has given the Southern District Health Board permission to dispose of two of its buildings in Dunedin.
Doctors' expenses queried
Doctors' expenses queried
Improved accountability for millions of dollars spent on district health board senior doctors' continuing education is being sought by Audit New Zealand.
Overpayment rectified
Overpayment rectified
Data accuracy problems which resulted in family doctors being overpaid by about $90,000 last year have been addressed, the Southern District Health Board says.
No advice to patient on painkillers
No advice to patient on painkillers
The Otago Southland coroner has recommended his finding into the death of an Invercargill woman be read by Southern District Health Board (SDHB) staff, saying the woman was not advised about the effect of strong painkillers prescribed to her after surgery.
Call for SDHB to release IT report
Call for SDHB to release IT report
Southern District Health Board should immediately release a long-awaited report into the cause of an IT crash that created havoc in February, Dunedin North MP David Clark says.
Get advice here: union
Get advice here: union
The Southern District Health Board did not need advice from an American-based firm, as there is plenty of help available closer to home, the senior doctors' union says.
Hospital deteriorates faster than expected
Hospital deteriorates faster than expected
A building at Dunedin Hospital deteriorated more quickly than anyone expected, Southern District Health Board chairman Joe Butterfield says.
Breast-screening jobs may go north
Breast-screening jobs may go north
A handful of jobs are set to transfer from Dunedin to Christchurch as a result of new management of the South's breast-screening programme, Pacific Radiology Group has confirmed.
Action on staff complaints failed to resolve smell issue
Action on staff complaints failed to resolve smell issue
Complaints from Southern District Health Board staff about strange smells in a dental unit were put down to it being new, and nothing was done, the board has confirmed.
$1m leak fix Govt's responsibility: King
$1m leak fix Govt's responsibility: King
It is unfair to expect the cash-strapped Southern District Health Board to find a million dollars to fix leaks at Dunedin Hospital, Labour health spokeswoman Annette King says.