Dr Chris Jackson is a brave man. He has suggested a scheme which would allow oncology patients access to privately funded services at public hospitals. It is, of course, an excellent idea. It is also an idea that will attract vilification from his colleagues (especially the doctors unions) and the Left (who hate the idea of [...]

Continuing on from yesterday’s post on PHO finances, I see that the Herald is running a follow up article suggesting that the wasted money in health is the “tip of the iceberg”. Maybe. But I suspect global health warming is melting it away. There is no doubt that there is excessive bureaucracy in the PHOs. [...]

Apparently, Auckland DHB is now going to play an expensive game of Chicken with Labtests. The Herald reports that “Auckland’s district health boards are considering bringing Diagnostic Medlab back into the provision of community laboratory services because of persisting problems with the newcomer Labtests”. This is silly. If Labtests are providing an inadequate service, they [...]

I find it quite amusing that a state sector inquiry is voicing concern about doctor’s long hours, especially since there is some degree of hypocrisy involved in their concern. Doctors have always tended to work very long hours and even now the average worked by junior hospital doctors is 55 hours. Many rural medical officers [...]

Spam Journalism: The spurious use of sensational headlines to add spice to an otherwise pointless article. (MacDoctor definition) Health is always a ripe place for sensationalism, but this particular article elevates pointlessness to an art-form. Debts make cuts in health services likely Wairarapa health services face an uncertain future after revelations the region’s district health [...]

There are two health articles in the Herald today about two entirely separate topics. The first, by Marion Blake, the CEO of Platform, is about community services and providing solutions other than hospital based ones. The second is about the poor state of Respiratory medicine services across the country. Entirely dissimilar subjects. And yet there is [...]

Antonie Dixon, the samurai sword attacker who cut the hands of two women and murdered a man, died at Paremoremo Prison overnight. Apparently he committed suicide. He will not be missed. Corrections will probably be heavily criticised for his death. In fairness to them, however, Dixon had borderline personality disorder (BPD). Parasuicide (a suicide attempt that [...]

The problem of no-shows in outpatients and operating theatres is a long-standing one. Every now and again it makes the news like today and then, like the Loch Ness Monster, quietly dips its head under the water and disappears. Ian Powell of the Assosiation of Salaried Medical Specialists (the senior doctor’s union), makes his usual [...]

Merry Christmas to all you Westies who now have to pay for a private clinic service or travel 25 minutes to North Shore Hospital, because Waitakere hospital’s emergency department now closes at 10pm. Apparently, they are too short-staffed to keep the place open, even for emergencies. Staff shortages have been a continuous problem for years. [...]

Tony Ryall has reinstated Hawkes Bay District Health Board, a year after David Cunliffe fired them. This reverses one of the most egregious uses of power I have ever seen. By firing the Hawkes Bay DHB, Cunliffe essentially removed all democratic representation for health in Hawkes Bay. He did this on the basis of an [...]