When a serious error is made in someone’s diagnosis, investigation or treatment, we really like to blame a health practitioner or two. In the Herald today, just such a diagnostic disaster is blamed on the DHB as Ron Paterson asks them to apologise for poor service. This is pretty unfair of Mr. Paterson as it [...]

The Amphibious One posts a long interview with Paul Drain on how wonderful the Cuban Health System is. This is not the first time I have seen left-wing articles on how wonderful (and cheap) the Cuban Healthcare system is. Such articles are usually full of unflattering comparisons with the US Healthcare system and the somewhat [...]

I have recently gone back into general practice full-time. One thing that seems very clear to me is that it has become increasingly difficult to refer people into the hospital system unless they are critically ill. My last stint as a GP was in mid-2007, but, at that time, it seemed reasonably easy to refer [...]