Eileen Goodwin

"Anyone who mentions that here gets shot." Dunedin pensioner Harold Offen is joking when he talks about the rest-homes care crisis, but he is serious about his desire to stay at home.

A surf lifeguard trial at St Kilda on Saturday briefly turned into the real thing when a surfer at nearby Smaills beach got in a spot of trouble.

Seeing and smelling the aftermath of a vicious fire hits home more than just reading about it, Dunedin woman Trudy McBride said, as she toured the charred wreck of a Somerville St home on Saturday.

Three people in Otago died in last year's swine flu pandemic, a report released yesterday says.

Attending the pictures alone after being "ditched" by her brother who refused to accompany her for their regular outing, Joan Young had no idea she was about to meet her future husband.

For the disabled, going to a play or a movie can be more expensive than for the able-bodied.

After her breast reconstruction surgery this year, Sandy Wilson wanted to give something back.

New Zealand's first overall health system scorecard was unveiled in Dunedin yesterday. The system received a respectable 71% - but performed poorly in many areas.

The Southern District Health Board will not pay for extra laboratory tests generated by a new warrant of fitness check for paying patients in Waitaki, chairman Errol Millar told a board meeting in Dunedin this week.

Confronting mental health staff with the internal voices many psychiatric patients hear was the basis of a workshop hosted by the Southern District Health Board yesterday.

A family home in Waverley was badly damaged in a fire tonight which quickly engulfed its lounge.

Campylobacter in Otago and Southland is up and Public Health South does not know why.

Animals make us "more fully human" and should be celebrated for it, the Rev Helene Mann told the 12th annual pet service at St Paul's Cathedral yesterday afternoon.

Waning interest in district health board elections may reflect a growing awareness DHB members are servants of the Government rather than the people, says University of Otago health policy specialist Associate Prof Robin Gauld.