South's hospitals at capacity
South's hospitals at capacity
Hospitals throughout Otago and Southland are almost at capacity and some patients are being shuffled around wards as staff deal with a seasonal increase in admissions.
SDHB
Health academic welcomes new role
Health academic welcomes new role
Leading part of the health sector, rather than just critiquing it, is a new-year challenge for Dunedin health academic Prof Robin Gauld.
Encouraging more high-fliers
Encouraging more high-fliers
The pay figures of University of Otago and Southern District Health Board staff published by this newspaper last weekend provide good news for the city, particularly given the recent focus on job losses, restructuring and the resulting uncertainty.
Dual roles for Butterfield
Dual roles for Butterfield
The Timaru-based chairman of the Southern District Health Board will also head a new-look hospital advisory committee, it has been confirmed.
Health campus transformation still under study
Health campus transformation still under study
The Southern District Health Board is still vague on the goal of transforming Lakes District Hospital into a health campus, more than two years after such a move was recommended by the National Health Board (NHB).
Practitioners adamant $15m not owed
Practitioners adamant $15m not owed
The independent practitioner association at the centre of a multimillion-dollar dispute remains adamant it owes nothing to the Southern District Health Board.
Nurses becoming 'seasonal workers'
Nurses becoming 'seasonal workers'
Some nurses are becoming ''seasonal workers'' at the Southern District Health Board and the nursing workforce is ''dispirited'' by cost cutting, senior doctors' union Otago president Dr Chris Wisely says.
Still aiming for scanner
Still aiming for scanner
Queenstown's health watchdog is still working towards a CT scanner, or similar non-invasive diagnostic equipment, being installed for Wakatipu patients, but is waiting for the Southern District Health Board (SDHB) to develop the hospital into a health campus.
Surgical swab left inside patient
Surgical swab left inside patient
A surgical swab left inside a patient and a patient who fell off the operating table were among incidents reported by the Southern District Health Board in the annual adverse events report, released yesterday.
SDHB kept lid on crisis
SDHB kept lid on crisis
A senior doctor's letter the Southern District Health Board tried for months to keep secret warns of a ''very real'' risk a patient will die because of a ''crisis'' in its Dunedin Hospital ear, nose, and throat department.
Scepticism over Ngai Tahu plan
Scepticism over Ngai Tahu plan
Health unions are expressing fears about a Ngai Tahu proposal to invest in Dunedin Hospital.
Health finance jobs could go north
Health finance jobs could go north
Auckland will get the lion's share of health finance jobs to be removed from Southern District Health Board under a cost-cutting proposal.
Millions remain in dispute
Millions remain in dispute
The Auditor-general's office expects the Southern District Health Board to resolve its long-running multimillion-dollar wrangle with South Link Health ''without further delay''.
Unable to compete with private sector
Unable to compete with private sector
Confidential advice to Southern District Health Board members deciding whether to privatise the South's fertility service says strong competition from the private sector contributed to making an in-house service unviable.
SDHB priorities blasted
SDHB priorities blasted
Southern District Health Board bosses are putting their need for propaganda before patients, the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists says.
Spending doubles
Spending doubles
Spending on communications, marketing and advertising has more than doubled at Southern District Health Board in the past three years, figures released under the Official Information Act show.
Health staff given details of $15m cost-cutting
Health staff given details of $15m cost-cutting
All Southern District Health Board staff have been sent a report showing the organisation's progress in saving more than $15 million in health services.
Fertility service change confirmed
Fertility service change confirmed
A decision announced yesterday to outsource the Otago Fertility Service (OFS) is a sign of the financial pressure on health boards, the head of the senior doctors' union says.
DHB cost-cutting methods criticised by RDA, unions
DHB cost-cutting methods criticised by RDA, unions
Rationale used to justify reducing bed numbers at the Southern District Health Board does not stack up and poses a clinical risk, a letter from the New Zealand Resident Doctors Association and aligned health unions to Southern District Health Board says.
Child poverty efforts noted
Child poverty efforts noted
Some encouraging progress is being made by the country's 20 district health boards in the fight against child poverty, Children's Commissioner Russell Wills says.