Latest Health Headlines
Cocaine And Vaping Rising In Popularity - Survey
Thursday, 21 November 2024, 9:17 pm | RNZ
Lead researcher Professor Chris Wilkins says the latest survey has found increased availability of cocaine, particularly in Auckland, Northland and Bay of Plenty, and increased cocaine use across the whole country. More >>
Puberty Blocker Evidence Brief Affirms Aotearoa’s Approach
Thursday, 21 November 2024, 7:54 pm | PATHA
Manatū Hauora’s evidence brief has found limitations in the quality of evidence for the benefits and risks of using puberty blockers, reflecting the methodological and ethical limitations of running randomised-controlled trials for gender affirming ... More >>
Additional Safeguards For Puberty Blockers
Thursday, 21 November 2024, 11:36 am | Ministry of Health
These tighter controls reflect a level of concern both here and overseas about the increasing use of these medicines for the treatment of gender identity issues without sufficient evidence to support their safety and effectiveness both now and in the ... More >>
NZ-led Research Team Honoured For Influencing Global Fertility And Gynaecology Practices
Thursday, 21 November 2024, 10:01 am | Health Research Council Of New Zealand
The team of New Zealand and international researchers were presented with the Beaven Medal for excellence in translational health research at the Royal Society Te Apārangi Research Honours ceremony at Auckland Museum. More >>
New National Antibiotics Guidelines Te Whata Kura Developed To Safeguard Precious Resource
Thursday, 21 November 2024, 9:42 am | Te Niwha
The new guidelines are called Te Whata Kura – a name that encapsulates the concepts of antibiotics being a treasure and guidelines being a storage place of knowledge. More >>
'A Risk Of Over-Diagnosing ADHD', Leading Nz Psychiatrist Warns
Wednesday, 20 November 2024, 9:56 pm | RNZ
An addiction specialist says the disorder shouldn't be downplayed, but we run the risk of pathologising normal behaviour. More >>
Urgent Action Needed To Address Aotearoa’s Shameful Household Food Insecurity
Wednesday, 20 November 2024, 5:41 pm | Health Coalition Aotearoa
The annual NZ Health Survey data for 2023-2024 showed that the proportion of children from homes where food ran out sometimes or often had increased by nearly six percentage points in just one year, from 21.3 per cent to 27 per cent. More >>
Rural School Drinking Water Threatened By Fast-Track - Greenpeace
Wednesday, 20 November 2024, 2:35 pm | Greenpeace
The Fast Track Bill will make drinking water quality worse across the country. Contamination of drinking water with toxic heavy metals often occurs as a result of gold mining - and fast-tracked gold mines are planned in both the Waikato and Otago regions. More >>
Upcoming Cook Islands Breast Cancer Foundation Ball To Promote Early Detection
Wednesday, 20 November 2024, 11:34 am | Pasifika Medical Association Group
This event is the latest in a long line of initiatives spearheaded by the CIBCF, which has been advocating for and promoting early detection of breast cancer for over 20 years. More >>
Thousands Of Kiwis With Common Lung Disease Could Benefit From New Care Standard- Specialist
Wednesday, 20 November 2024, 11:13 am | GSK New Zealand
The call comes ahead of World COPD Day on Nov 20th - which this year aims to highlight the importance of measuring lung function More >>
Urgent Action Needed: Aotearoa Must Accelerate Efforts To Eliminate Cervical Cancer
Wednesday, 20 November 2024, 9:54 am | Public Health Communication Centre
Cancer Society of NZ Medical Director, Dr Gregory says: Government needs to fully fund & implement an equitable cervical cancer elimination strategy, extend free cervical screening to all eligible individuals & improve access to HPV vaccination in schools, More >>
2023/24 New Zealand Health Survey: One Quarter Of Kiwi Adults Unable To Access General Practice
Wednesday, 20 November 2024, 9:41 am | GPNZ
While all general practice organisations remain committed to progress and modernisation, workforce sustainability remains a growing concern. More >>
Busy Month For The Grassroots Trust Rescue Helicopter: 35 Missions Completed In Manawatu And Whanganui Regions
Tuesday, 19 November 2024, 9:15 pm | Philips Search and Rescue Trust
The Grassroots Trust Rescue Helicopter had a busy month in October, with a total of 35 life-saving missions carried out across the Manawatu and Whanganui regions. The rescue helicopter crew responded to a wide range of emergency situations, including ... More >>
Screentime Rules Reduce Childhood Obesity Risk
Tuesday, 19 November 2024, 5:58 pm | University of Auckland
Researchers recommend families set screentime rules for their children to promote healthier childhoods and reduce the risk of obesity. More >>
Health Sector United In Opposition To The Treaty Principles Bill
Tuesday, 19 November 2024, 3:02 pm | OraTaiao
"We must use all tools available to kill the Treaty Principles Bill. After that, we must be vigilant against future assaults on health, the environment, and Te Tiriti. Only then can equitable health and climate action thrive within a Te Tiriti-honouring ... More >>
The Greenlea Rescue Helicopter Crew Carries Out 47 Missions Across The Lakes And Central Plateau Regions In October
Tuesday, 19 November 2024, 11:54 am | Philips Search and Rescue Trust
October was a busy month for the Greenlea Rescue Helicopter crew, who carried out 47 life-saving missions across the Lakes and Central Plateau regions. The crew's diverse range of missions included 23 inter-hospital transfers, 6 medical emergencies, ... More >>
Aotearoa New Zealand's Smoking Rates Plateau, Whilst Māori Smoking Rates Continue To Decline
Tuesday, 19 November 2024, 11:50 am | ASH Action For Smokefree 2025
With only a year to go until the Smokefree goal of 5% the overall daily smoking rates have not changed since the 2022/23 survey, remaining at 6.9% in 2024 compared to 6.8%m the previous year. More >>
The Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter Undertakes 64 Life-saving Missions In October
Tuesday, 19 November 2024, 11:46 am | Philips Search and Rescue Trust
The fast response of the rescue helicopter and its highly trained crew ensures the patients receive the best care as quickly as possible. More >>
Delayed Notification Of Pregnancy Ultrasound Results Breaches The Code 21HDC00168
Tuesday, 19 November 2024, 8:28 am | Office of the Health and Disability Commissioner
Deputy Commissioner Rose Wall found Pacific Radiology and a registered midwife failed to deliver an appropriate standard of care. More >>
Beauty Clinic Breaches Code For Poor Care Standards, Deputy Health And Disability Commissioner Finds 21HDC02297
Tuesday, 19 November 2024, 8:26 am | Office of the Health and Disability Commissioner
Dr Vanessa Caldwell’s investigation identified several systemic issues that contributed to the incident, noting that the clinic provided an inadequate response when the woman first reported extreme pain and the beauty therapist was uncertain about the ... More >>
Family Members Are Being Asked To Help Stop The ‘Creeping Silent Killer’ In Diabetes Care
Monday, 18 November 2024, 9:07 pm | Te Runanga o Toa Rangatira
November is Diabetes Action Month in Aotearoa and the Ora Toa Health Unit in Takapūwāhia, is asking family members to role model best practice rather than enable poor diabetes management. More >>
Shellfish Biotoxin Warning For Part Of Bay Of Plenty
Monday, 18 November 2024, 6:53 pm | NZ Food Safety
The warning extends from the southern end of Pauanui Beach down to the entrance of Tauranga Harbour, by Mount Maunganui. The warning also includes Tauranga Harbour. More >>
World AMR Awareness Week: Preventing Antibiotic-Resistant Superbugs Is Everyone’s Responsibility
Monday, 18 November 2024, 11:24 am | NZ Veterinary Association
The NZVA today launches a series of videos that raise AMR awareness by challenging some of the common misconceptions about antibiotics: suggest to work closely with the vet teams and reduce antimicrobial use by keeping vaccinations up-to-date and ... More >>
Teamwork Makes Antimicrobials Work
Monday, 18 November 2024, 10:46 am | NZ Food Safety
New Zealand Food Safety (NZFS) is supporting World AMR Awareness Week. More >>
Drop Off In Rangatahi Dental Health Care A Major Concern For Porirua Health Providers
Monday, 18 November 2024, 8:32 am | Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand
Dentist Dr Margaret Clark says there are a few reasons why dental numbers drop off including having to enrol in private clinics, which can be a barrier. Other reasons include being nervous about treatment, sterile environments, people not realising ... More >>
60 Landmarks Light Up Purple To Support Babies Fighting For Life On World Prematurity Day
Sunday, 17 November 2024, 8:31 am | Little Miracles Trust
“Having a premature baby can be an isolating experience, with hospital stays lasting for weeks and months. We do everything we can to provide support whether it’s emotional, practical, or financial,” says CEO Sarah Rusholme. More >>
Update On Illness At University Halls
Thursday, 14 November 2024, 7:54 pm | Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand
Following epidemiological, laboratory, and environmental investigations, the cause of the outbreak was found to be contamination of a chicken dish due to inappropriate food preparation processes. More >>
The Little Miracles Trust World Prematurity Day Campaign
Thursday, 14 November 2024, 7:03 pm | Little Miracles Trust
Over 60 iconic landmarks across New Zealand will light up purple on 17th Nov to raise awareness for the 5,000 families navigating their challenging journey through a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) or Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) each year. More >>
Generous Donation For Hāwera Hospital Diabetes Service
Thursday, 14 November 2024, 4:02 pm | Health NZ
The specialised, CGM devices and readers generously donated by the Hāwera Christmas House Tour Group, are now being distributed to people with diabetes to help them measure and track their blood glucose levels. More >>
Unsafe Preparation Of Chicken Dish Confirmed As Cause Of Mass Sickness At University
Thursday, 14 November 2024, 3:07 pm | RNZ
Cooling and reheating meat caused the students to become ill. More >>
NZ Healthcare System Superior To Those In Sweden And Germany, TWO Boss Says
Thursday, 14 November 2024, 2:45 pm | RNZ
It shows only the UK, Netherlands and Australia out of the 10 countries scored, were outperforming New Zealand. More >>
Submissions Period On The Mental Health Bill Extended To 20 December 2024
Thursday, 14 November 2024, 2:26 pm | Health Committee
This bill would repeal and replace the Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 1992. The bill aims to create a modern legislative framework for compulsory mental health care. More >>
Win With Turmeric Golden Paste
Thursday, 14 November 2024, 1:07 pm | Golden Turmeric Limited
Entries are open to all Golden Turmeric customers between 12 November 2024 and 15 December 2024. Competition will not be used for ‘data mining’ and entrant data will not be retained. More >>
Critical Workforce Shortages Leave People With Type 1 Diabetes Unable To Access Life Changing Technology
Thursday, 14 November 2024, 10:41 am | New Zealand Society for the Study of Diabetes
After years of advocacy Pharmac have now funded gold standard technology for people with type 1 diabetes, including automated insulin delivery. “Automated insulin delivery acts like an artificial pancreas, and is life-saving and life-changing for ... More >>
70 Percent Of 'New' Doctors Trained Overseas
Wednesday, 13 November 2024, 10:00 pm | RNZ
Overseas-trained doctors made up more than 70 percent of new registrations in New Zealand in the last year, while the home-grown medical workforce is shrinking. More >>
Vape Advertising And Promotion Ban ‘Long Overdue’
Wednesday, 13 November 2024, 2:28 pm | Asthma and Respiratory Foundation
The Foundation provided feedback to both Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Amendment Bills - the first in 2020 and the second in 2024. The second - (No 2) - is still before Parliament. More >>
Energy Poverty: Low-income Households Hit Hardest By Rising Power Costs
Wednesday, 13 November 2024, 10:21 am | Public Health Communication Centre
There's a stark income disparity in energy costs - low-income households spend over 7.5% of their income on electricity, while high-income households spend under 1.5% according to Dr Kimberley O’Sullivan and co-authors from the University of Otago. More >>
New Heart Medicine For 18,000 New Zealanders
Tuesday, 12 November 2024, 8:15 pm | PHARMAC
Pharmac funded empagliflozin for the first time in 2020 for some people with type 2 diabetes as it also helps to keep the levels of sugar in the blood in the healthy range. More >>
Care Provider Breaches Resident’s Right To Services Of An Appropriate Standard 21HDC01877
Monday, 11 November 2024, 3:27 pm | Health and Disability Commissioner
Ms Cooper said that the deficiencies in the care provided to the resident were systemic issues for which Elmswood bears responsibility. More >>
Woman’s Rights Breached Due To Failures In Care During Pregnancy 22HDC01257
Monday, 11 November 2024, 3:21 pm | Health and Disability Commissioner
The woman engaged a registered midwife as her Lead Maternity Carer (LMC) during the pregnancy of her fourth child. More >>
Health New Zealand Waitematā’s Care Falls Short Of Expected Standards 21HDC00557
Monday, 11 November 2024, 3:12 pm | Health and Disability Commissioner
Ms Cooper’s decision centred on the care the man received while at hospital for treatment of serious health conditions, including ischemic heart disease, pulmonary hypertension and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). More >>
Pharmac Funds New Medicine And Removes Renewal Criteria For ADHD And Narcolepsy Treatments
Monday, 11 November 2024, 11:16 am | PHARMAC
“We’ve decided to fund lisdexamfetamine, a new stimulant medicine that will provide an additional treatment option for people with ADHD, and we’re also simplifying the renewal process,” says Pharmac’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr David Hughes. More >>
Te Whatu Ora Waitaha Canterbury Pānui
Monday, 11 November 2024, 10:13 am | Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand
Celebrating Allied Health Assistants (AHAs)'s part in the healthcare system. More >>
Cancer Therapy Pioneer Invests In Christchurch’s BioTech Manufacturing Future
Monday, 11 November 2024, 9:10 am | ChristchurchNZ
BioOra’s lead product is a novel, third generation CAR-T therapy developed in collaboration with the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research that is currently in a Phase II clinical trial in New Zealand. More >>
Newly Funded Medicine To Benefit 110 More People With Thyroid, Liver, And Kidney Cancer
Friday, 8 November 2024, 1:49 pm | PHARMAC
Dr David Hughes, Pharmac’s Chief Medical Officer, says feedback on the public consultation helped Pharmac make small changes to the final eligibility criteria for kidney and thyroid cancer to make sure the right people can access treatment. More >>
NZUS Council Congressional Interns Prepare To Head To Washington DC
Friday, 8 November 2024, 8:48 am | NZUS Council
The internship programme is named in honour of former New Zealand Ambassador to the USA, Rt. Hon Mike Moore, who established the programme after the Christchurch earthquakes in 2010-11. More >>
Auckland Emphasises Importance Of Comprehensive Dental Services For Community Health
Friday, 8 November 2024, 8:39 am | Dental Today
The availability of diverse dental treatments across the region underscores a community-wide shift towards prioritising dental care, recognising its critical role in overall health and well-being. More >>
Plunket’s New One Stop Community Hub Opens In Dunedin
Thursday, 7 November 2024, 8:02 pm | Plunket
Plunket nurses, kaiāwhina and community Karitāne health workers, and community services such as playgroups, antenatal classes, injury prevention and volunteer home visiting services will all be under one roof. More >>
Funding Of 2nd Generation Enzyme Replacement Therapy (ERT) Nexviazyme (avalglucosidase alfa) For Treating Pompe Disease
Thursday, 7 November 2024, 7:57 pm | New Zealand Pompe Network
People with Pompe disease in NZ have had to rely on compassionate access to drugs, or participation in clinical trials. So, to have NZ finally acknowledging the worthiness of this drug is absolutely a game changer for those of us with Pompe, and those who ... More >>
Council Of Medical Colleges Urges Government To Drop The Principles Of The Treaty Of Waitangi Bill
Thursday, 7 November 2024, 4:13 pm | Council Of Medical Colleges
CMC Chair Dr Samantha Murton says the Bill is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of the Treaty and its history and the attempt to reinterpret the principles risks creating division and may hinder Aotearoa New Zealand's progress. More >>
Look Out For Algal Blooms Before Using Our Lakes And Rivers This Summer
Thursday, 7 November 2024, 11:20 am | Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand
“Algal blooms can develop rapidly and unpredictably, and some release toxins which can be very dangerous if you swallow or come into contact with them” says local Medical Officer of Health Dr Gregory Evans, from Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora. More >>
Treaty Principles Bill Will Harm Māori Health And Fuel Racial Division
Thursday, 7 November 2024, 11:01 am | NZ College of Public Health Medicine
Regardless of the Bill’s outcome, the mere progression of this Bill will fuel racial division, waste a large amount of time and resource, and result, both directly and indirectly, in significant harm to the health of Māori. More >>
From Vision To Legacy: Te Kōhao Health Celebrates 30 Years | Striving To Make A Difference For Everyone In Health
Wednesday, 6 November 2024, 7:30 pm | Te Kohao Health
The real milestone for Te Kōhao Health has been the development of its staff and the partnerships it has forged with Pacific Radiology and Health Radiology New Zealand, to provide imaging and outpatient services—"right here in our community”—a ... More >>
Not The Time To Share: NZ Needs To Rethink Multi-Bed Hospital Rooms
Wednesday, 6 November 2024, 6:38 pm | The Conversation
Multi-patient rooms are the status quo for hospitals in New Zealand. But this breaches best practice for healthcare and infection control protocols, as well as the rights of vulnerable patients. More >>
November Mouth Cancer Action Month: A Call To General Practitioners And Dentists To Help Save Lives
Wednesday, 6 November 2024, 4:41 pm | Head and Neck Cancer Support Network
Mouth cancer often goes undetected until it has reached an advanced stage, significantly lowering survival rates. The goal of this year's campaign is to support GPs and dentists in identifying potential symptoms early. More >>
Nurses Stop Work Across The Country
Wednesday, 6 November 2024, 2:11 pm | New Zealand Nurses Organisation
These hour-long meetings started on Monday and end on Friday. They aim to allow nurses, midwives, and health care assistants to review Te Whatu Ora's intention to pause calculations for the Care Capacity Demand Management (CCDM) safe staffing programme ... More >>
New Dunedin Hospital Petition: Southerners Need Tertiary Level Care
Wednesday, 6 November 2024, 10:52 am | New Zealand Nurses Organisation
Tertiary level health services are specialised and lifesaving care such as surgery and lifesaving and cancer treatments. The current Dunedin Hospital which provides a range of these specialist services to patients throughout Otago and the South Island ... More >>
Patients And Doctors Are The Victims In Private Health Funding Dispute
Tuesday, 5 November 2024, 2:57 pm | Royal Australasian College of Surgeons
From 26 November 2024, private hospital operator Healthscope says it will begin charging an out-of-pocket fee to Bupa and Australian Health Service Alliance members in its 38 hospitals after failing to reach an agreement with the funds. More >>
Global Anaesthesia Stars Headline Annual Scientific Meeting
Tuesday, 5 November 2024, 1:08 pm | ANZCA
The Aotearoa NZ Anaesthesia ASM 2024 will be held from 7-9 November in the Aotea Centre, Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland. The theme for this year’s conference is “Working together”, reflecting the benefits of multidisciplinary team collaboration, working ... More >>
Dental Association Promotes Water To Gen Z Kiwis In New Social Media Campaign
Tuesday, 5 November 2024, 1:03 pm | New Zealand Dental Association
Research reveals Kiwis consume around 37 teaspoons of sugar per day on average, which is detrimental to good health. The WHO advises adults and young adults should not consume more than 6 teaspoons per day, and children not more than 3-4 per day. More >>