Rural health appointment
Rural health appointment
Balclutha general practitioner and Otago District Health Board member Dr Branko Sijnja has been appointed director of the University of Otago's Rural Medical Immersion Programme.
ODHB
Action likely to continue
Action likely to continue
Industrial action by medical radiation technologists across the country looks set to continue and will include Easter in some places, including Southland.
Contract signed 'under duress'
Contract signed 'under duress'
Dunedin pharmacist Don Anderson says he has signed a contract with the Otago District Health Board, but did so under duress.
Vitamin lack blamed on sunburn fear
Vitamin lack blamed on sunburn fear
"Politically correct" attitudes to sunburn mean people now need to be medicated with vitamin D, a Southland and Otago district health board committee was told this week.
Hospital boards satisfied with Telecom XT assurance
Hospital boards satisfied with Telecom XT assurance
The Southland and Otago district health boards say they are satisfied with Telecom's assurance its beleaguered XT network will be fixed.
ODHB to provide housework support update
ODHB to provide housework support update
Otago District Health Board managers will meet home support providers today to update them on plans to review housework support for some elderly.
System 'crazy' advisory group told
System 'crazy' advisory group told
District health boards are paying to dispose of wheelbarrow-loads of over-prescribed medicines people do not want, Peter Barron says.
Self-funded dinner to mark end of board
Self-funded dinner to mark end of board
There would be no lavish end-of-an-era function for the cash-strapped Otago District Health Board, chairman Errol Millar said yesterday.
Industrial action to affect patients
Industrial action to affect patients
About 50 patients have had Dunedin Hospital radiology or mammography appointments rescheduled as a result of next week's planned industrial action by medical radiation technologists.
Approval sought for cancer pilot
Approval sought for cancer pilot
The Otago and Southland district health boards spend less for day programme activities for the elderly than is spent in other parts of the country.
Communication faulted
Communication faulted
Some Southland District Health Board members yesterday criticised board communication over the proposed changes to services for the elderly, saying it had caused unnecessary anxiety.
Concern at level of health services
Concern at level of health services
Residents of Queenstown were getting only about half the health services of similar sized centres in Otago and Southland, the Southland District Health Board was told yesterday.
Ryall accepts DHBs need time to balance books
Ryall accepts DHBs need time to balance books
Health Minister Tony Ryall accepts that delaying cuts to housework help to some elderly people in Otago and Southland will mean the district health boards will take longer to balance their books.
Telephone interviews for some
Telephone interviews for some
Some elderly people will still have telephone interviews under the Otago and Southland District Health Boards' revised plan to introduce cuts to housework assistance.
Decision today on cancer drugs trial
Decision today on cancer drugs trial
The Southland District Health Board will today be asked to support the proposed pilot scheme which would give some public-hospital cancer patients the option of paying for extra drugs.
Elderly to keep home help a little longer
Elderly to keep home help a little longer
Letters to some elderly people telling them their housework assistance is being stopped will be sent out this week, the Otago District Health Board says.
'Prescribe less' plea to doctors
'Prescribe less' plea to doctors
A letter urging Otago and Southland general practitioners to show restraint when prescribing medicines - in a move to save money - should be retracted, the New Zealand Pharmacy Guild says.
Confusion exists over care cuts
Confusion exists over care cuts
The debate over reducing some aspects of care for the elderly is in danger of becoming a single-issue controversy. Richard Thomson argues that it must be considered in the full context of the ODHB's service provision.
Scan staff action may affect elective surgery
Scan staff action may affect elective surgery
Planned industrial action by medical radiation technologists could affect the Otago District Health Board's ability to meet its elective surgery targets, chief executive Brian Rousseau says.
Health group seeks pilot scheme
Health group seeks pilot scheme
The general issue of unfunded treatments being provided in public hospitals should be considered nationally through a considered rigorous process, the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists says.