New disease under MAF vigilance
Thursday 23 February 2012, 8:41AMSince Schmallenberg virus (SBV) was confirmed in England on January 23, Federated Farmers has been in contact with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry for assurance of its biosecurity preparedness
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FebFasters enter final week of alcohol-free challenge
Wednesday 22 February 2012, 2:42PMThe end is in sight for hundreds of people taking part in the New Zealand Drug Foundation’s annual FebFast challenge – just one more week to go
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NZMA remembers Christchurch one year on
Wednesday 22 February 2012, 2:39PMAs New Zealand remembers the tragic events in Christchurch one year ago today, the New Zealand Medical Association (NZMA) wishes to acknowledge and pay respect to the doctors who died in the earthquake
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Harbourview Sculpture Trail:Hospice West Auckland Fundraiser
Wednesday 22 February 2012, 12:11PMHospice West Auckland is a non profit organisation providing specialist palliative care at no cost to terminally ill patients and their families
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GSK refuses to pay pharmacists for recall work
Wednesday 22 February 2012, 9:39AMGlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is refusing to pay invoices from community pharmacists for the work done in managing a patient level medicine recall in 2010 – even after GSK lost their case in the district court
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Manuka Health buys Japanese 'know how'
Wednesday 22 February 2012, 8:52AMWaikato-based company Manuka Health has signed an agreement with Japanese company CycloChem Bio Limited to import new cyclodextrin technology into New Zealand
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Foundation praises extension of suicide helpline
Wednesday 22 February 2012, 8:39AMAn extension of hours at Lifeline Aotearoa’s national suicide prevention helpline is being praised by the Mental Health Foundation as a valuable extension to support services
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Homeopathy has a valuable role in NZ’s Health Industry
Tuesday 21 February 2012, 3:33PMThe New Zealand Council of Homeopaths endorses the findings of a Swiss report by Bornhoft et al, the most comprehensive analysis of homeopathy done by a government
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Kiwis warned against buying specs online
Tuesday 21 February 2012, 1:58PMKiwis tempted by cheap prescription glasses online are being warned almost half of such specs have been found to be unsafe or incorrect
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Pilot combines speech-language therapy and music
Tuesday 21 February 2012, 12:42PMChristchurch allied health services provider Therapy Professionals has been awarded a contract to run a pilot programme designed to improve and maintain vocal function for people living with impaired neurological function
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Fewer mistakes happen in hospitals which are safely staffed
Tuesday 21 February 2012, 10:58AMThe best way of improving quality and safety in New Zealand hospitals is to learn from the serious and sentinel events that occur each year, according to the New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO)
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Alarming increase in serious infectious diseases in NZ
Tuesday 21 February 2012, 10:56AMAdmissions to New Zealand hospitals from infectious diseases have jumped dramatically over the last two decades according to just published research from the University of Otago, Wellington
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Making our hospitals safer
Tuesday 21 February 2012, 10:54AMThe reporting today of Sentinel and Serious Events by the Health Quality and Safety Commission sharpens the focus on the quality of patient care at the West Coast DHB says Chief Medical Officer Dr Carol Atmore
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Halfway mark reached in Neurological Foundation Chair
Tuesday 21 February 2012, 10:51AMThe campaign to fund the country’s first Chair in Neurosurgery has hit the halfway mark with more than $1.5 million raised in public donations since the campaign launched a month ago
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Abandon the silos!
Monday 20 February 2012, 5:04PMChief Executive of the Cancer Society, Dalton Kelly, today challenged stakeholders at a PHARMAC forum whether the time hasn’t come to abandon the silo approach to delivery of disease prevention and treatment, as is apparent in the public sector.
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Serious and sentinel events 2010/11: Making our hospitals safer
Monday 20 February 2012, 1:49PMA total of 377 serious and sentinel events occurred in New Zealand’s public hospitals in 2010/2011 – a rate of more than one for every day of the year
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Canterbury Health Warning – Algal Bloom in Waiau River
Monday 20 February 2012, 10:49AMThe Community and Public Health division of the Canterbury District Health Board have issued a health warning after potentially toxic algae (benthic cyanobacteria) were found in the Waiau River 50 meters upstream of the main Waiau Bridge
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Pointers to psychosocial recovery in Christchurch
Monday 20 February 2012, 10:46AMNewly published research is highlighting some important factors that can enhance psychosocial recovery after the Christchurch earthquakes
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Jobs to go at Hawke’s Bay DHB
Monday 20 February 2012, 10:44AMThere is a real threat to patient and staff safety at Hawke’s Bay District Health Board, in light of proposed job cuts announced yesterday (February 17), according to NZNO organiser for the DHB Stephanie Thomas
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Bupa staff and residents Relay for Life
Monday 20 February 2012, 9:25AMThis weekend Bupa Care Services staff will help raise awareness for Cancer Society New Zealand with their Relay for Life team
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New psychiatry research released (1)
Friday 17 February 2012, 12:28PMThe latest edition of the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry has been released
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Vitamin C may enhance radiation therapy
Friday 17 February 2012, 12:24PMVitamin C may enhance radiation therapy for aggressive brain tumours
Recent research by the University of Otago, Wellington has shown that giving brain cancer cells high dose vitamin C makes them much more susceptible to radiation therapy
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It’s not just apples keeping the doctor away
Thursday 16 February 2012, 10:55AMA daily intake of nuts can reduce cholesterol levels and improve heart health
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Putting the focus on healthy skin
Thursday 16 February 2012, 9:11AMHaving healthy skin is not just about appearances. Every human adult has over 1.5 metres of skin containing nerve endings, hair follicles, sweat glands and blood vessels
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Journal features earthquake psychology
Wednesday 15 February 2012, 5:01PMThe New Zealand Psychological Society (NZPsS) has released a Special Issue of the New Zealand Journal of Psychology that presents sound research and a range of professional experiences related to the changing condition of the population of Canterbury in the aftermath of the last 10,000 shakes and 500 days
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Some child health services at Christchurch Hospital move
Wednesday 15 February 2012, 4:48PMSome Child Health Services at Christchurch Hospital temporarily move to accommodate earthquake repairs
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Temporary Moves to Accommodate Earthquake Repairs: CHOC, GAU
Wednesday 15 February 2012, 1:26PMThe Child Haematology Oncology Centre (CHOC) And The Gynaecology Assessment Unit Temporarily Move To Accommodate Earthquake Repairs
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First steps towards national post-surgery mortality review system
Wednesday 15 February 2012, 11:19AMHaving a better understanding of deaths that occur in the days and weeks following surgery and anaesthesia will help reduce harm to patients, says the Chair of the Health Quality & Safety Commission
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Members of new Interagency Pain Research Coordinating Committee announced
Tuesday 14 February 2012, 4:42PMMore than 100 million Americans suffer from migraines, arthritis and other chronic pain conditions with an annual economic toll of nearly $600 billion in medical bills and lost productivity. To help address this problem, Congress directed the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, through the Affordable Care Act, to create a new Interagency Pain Research Coordinating Committee. Its members, announced today by the National Institutes of Health, include biomedical researchers, representatives from nonprofit public advocacy organizations, and representatives of seven federal government organizations that deal with pain research and patient care
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Scandalous perpetuation of brain damage to children
Tuesday 14 February 2012, 4:37PMAlcohol Healthwatch launched an on-line resource today to assist health professionals talk to their pregnant patients about alcohol
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Blood Service Gets Clean Bill of Health
Tuesday 14 February 2012, 4:35PMA performance audit report on the New Zealand Blood Service was tabled in Parliament today by the Office of the Auditor-General
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Two more practices to join Southern Cross Primary Care
Tuesday 14 February 2012, 3:08PMTwo more leading general practices are poised to join the Southern Cross Primary Care (SCPC) network as Foundation Partners
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New Alcohol and Pregnancy Resource for Health Professionals
Tuesday 14 February 2012, 3:06PMA new online resource has been launched to assist the many New Zealand healthcare professionals who say they don’t feel adequately trained to discuss alcohol use with their pregnant patients
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Cancer education and support a first in Aotearoa
Tuesday 14 February 2012, 9:08AMKia ora - E te iwi, a cancer education and support programme for Maori, has been gifted to the Maori health community by the Cancer Society
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Passengers on flight NZ90 from Tokyo to Auckland cleared to leave Auckland airport earlier today
Tuesday 14 February 2012, 9:06AMAir New Zealand Flight NZ90 from Toyko arrived at Auckland Airport at 9.21am this morning with a group of unwell Japanese students. The first passengers were disembarked from the plane at approximately 10.55am
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Breastfeeding protects against asthma up to six years of age
Friday 10 February 2012, 12:48PMResearch by the University of Otago in Christchurch and Wellington has shown that breastfeeding of infants has a clear protective effect against children developing asthma or wheezing up to six years of age
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New approach to care for mental health unit
Thursday 09 February 2012, 3:24PMA method of care that reduces the need for restraint and seclusion for mental health clients is being introduced to Greymouth Hospital’s Manaakitanga Acute Admissions Unit
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NIH study links high levels of cadmium, lead in blood to pregnancy delay
Thursday 09 February 2012, 3:11PMHigher blood levels of cadmium in females, and higher blood levels of lead in males, delayed pregnancy in couples trying to become pregnant, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other academic research institutions
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Hospital workforce crisis and Whanganui maternity retrenchment
Thursday 09 February 2012, 2:43PMThe hospital specialist workforce crisis is behind the retrenchment of specialist maternity services in Whanganui,” said Mr Ian Powell, Executive Director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, today
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Syria: Medicine used as a weapon of persecution
Thursday 09 February 2012, 11:52AMThe Syrian regime is conducting a campaign of unrelenting repression against people wounded in demonstrations and the medical workers trying to treat them, the international medical humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières said today
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