Eileen Goodwin

Southland Hospital physicians have proposed a new medical assessment unit to deal with increasing demand in the emergency department of the Invercargill hospital.

Four cyclists had to take evasive action in Dunedin last night when an "abusive'' male driver aimed his vehicle at them.

Having too wide a mix of patients in a hospital ward will increase the risk of complications, Dunedin Hospital ear, nose and throat specialist Martyn Fields says.

The rebuild of Dunedin Hospital is an "exciting opportunity'' for changing health services but for now it is "business as usual'', Southern District Health Board commissioner Kathy Grant says.

A woman was injured when her car collided with a bus that ran a red light in central Dunedin last night, police said.

When little Charlie Ryall (3) was recovering from heart surgery this year in Auckland, he would watch The Wiggles from his hospital bed.

The redevelopment of Dunedin Hospital is "highly unlikely'' to adversely affect neurosurgery, Health Minister Jonathan Coleman says.

A special relationship of more than 130 years between the Dunedin School of Medicine and Dunedin Hospital must not be "disregarded with the stroke of a pen'', Emeritus Prof David Gerrard tells health reporter Eileen Goodwin.  

Women are waiting longer than "the ideal'' to be seen for urogynaecological conditions because the Southern District Health Board only has one urogynaecologist.

Dunedin Hospital might switch to a "generalist'' medical model with less focus on individual specialist services when it is rebuilt.

Health Minister Dr Jonathan Coleman should not have kept secret official advice about the pros and cons of sacking Southern District Health Board members, the Chief Ombudsman says.

A five-bed mental health supported living home is closing in Balclutha because of a Southern District Health Board funding cut.

Dunedin South MP Clare Curran has called for the Compass Group hospital food contract to be released, saying there is high public interest in the controversial 15-year deal.

The Government is no further ahead in deciding the fate of Invercargill's state housing stock than when the sales process collapsed in May.

A suggestion in a new health plan that rural hospitals carry too many beds and aim for higher-level services than necessary is "inflammatory'' and lacks evidence, Clutha Health First chief executive Ray Anton says.

Listening to victims of family violence formed an "integral'' part of the recommendations of a recent royal commission in Australia, its chairwoman Marcia Neave told an audience in Dunedin.