Health & Medical News in NZ - Stuff.co.nz

Health

Thousands die each year post surgery

Up to 5000 people die following surgery each year in New Zealand, government-funded report finds.

Swimming again after tumour removed

A woman, who gave up swimming after developing a brain tumour, will jump back in the water this month.

PM backs plane flu scare response

LATEST: John Key says officials did not overreact to a health scare on board an Air New Zealand flight from Japan yesterday.

Whooping cough strikes baby

A baby is in hospital as a whooping cough outbreak continues to spread across the Wellington region.

Caring for these kids a job for life

Cliff Robinson with his two disabled children, Marita, 42, and Johnny, 45

Caring for his two disabled children is exhausting, but Cliff Robinson does it for one simple reason.

Medical errors cost ACC $7.6m

Two people who ended up as paraplegics after medical treatment have received more than $200,000 each in compensation.

Teens mimic depression to get prescription drugs

Teenagers feigning depression in order to be prescribed antidepressants in the false belief the drugs will cause weight loss or speed up alcohol intoxication.

Hospital heads dismiss DHB merger fears

MARIKA HILL - © Fairfax NZ News

Auckland hospital bosses have quashed staff speculation that three managers are jumping ship ahead of a merger between two of the city's health boards.

Promoter dismisses bike helmet harm study

A leading cycle race promoter has criticised new research critical of compulsory cycle helmets.

A burning issue: When coffins get too big

MARTY SHARPE - © Fairfax NZ News

Crematoriums are being forced to build bigger furnaces as more Kiwi bodies - and their coffins - become larger.

Plucky mother intent on recovery

Jane Taylor never imagined the death of her teen son would give her a tenacious will to live.

ACC beneficiary admits he cheated

A man who battled for seven years to get compensation admits he cheated ACC.

Cafe's stub-out stance a winner

Smoking has been stubbed out entirely at a Taranaki cafe and its owner hopes other hospitality providers will follow suit.

Doctor sceptical about boy's alternative cancer care

A Picton doctor has questioned the use of alternative medicine to treat a 9-year-old Nelson boy who has a rare form of cancer.

Calls to stop the spread of fast food outlets

Health authorities call to stop the spread of fast food outlets in Auckland's poorest suburbs.

Information withheld puts children 'at risk'

Kiwi children are continually being put at risk because of a lack of information-sharing between social agencies, a Hamilton community nurse says.

Kiwi scientist urges halt to doomsday flu research

A New Zealand scientist is calling for permanent restrictions on research into bird flu after a US laboratory genetically engineered a strain of the virus that could kill half the world's population.

City doctors earn less than country cousins

House prices in Auckland are around double those in South Canterbury, but its doctors are paid an average $30,000 less than their rural counterparts.

Mounting cost of coping with mental illness

Mental health is becoming a significant issue for New Zealanders.

Death linked with HIV stigma

An HIV support organisation says more people die from discrimination associated with HIV than the actual virus.

Auckland men unaware they have HIV: study

One in five HIV-positive gay or bisexual men in Auckland is unaware they have the disease.

Lessons on coping after earthquakes

The unpredictability of continuing earthquakes makes overcoming stress and anxiety harder, a visiting psychologist says.

Nurse suspended for inappropriate texts

A former nurse has been suspended after sending inappropriate texts to mental health patients.

Neurosurgery unit saves baby's life

When Melissa Kane signed a petition, she didn't know what was around the corner.

Kiwis told of implant poison risk

About 500 Kiwis have been told their metal hip replacements may be poisoning them.

Generosity gets Rusty going again

Community helps with dog's surgery

Rusty the dog is on the mend after a handful of generous Palmerston North people came to his rescue.

$60k needed to give Fayt a chance

Chantayne Burton hopes a controversial foetal stem cell treatment will help her son.

Fill-in radiologist stood down after errors

GWYNETH HYNDMAN - © Fairfax NZ News

Southland Hospital recruitment processes are under review after a locum radiologist was stood down over his error rate.

Rare flesh-eating bug strikes

A patient is being treated for a rare flesh-eating disease at Palmerston North Hospital.

Breast implant scare: Ex-company boss arrested

ARRESTED: Jean-Claude Mas, former head of the now defunct breast implant manufacturer Poly Implant Prothese, in an undated mugshot.

Police in France have arrested the former head of a company at the centre of a worldwide breast implant scandal affecting tens of thousands of women.

Woman forced to walk home at 2.30am

A woman says she was forced to walk home at 2.30am from Christchurch Hospital.

Chlamydia: Men at risk of 'hidden disease'

Kiwi men are being urged to get checked for the sexually transmitted infection chlamydia amid fears that the incidence of the disease is much greater than statistics suggest.

Shock treatment 'needed'

'I was not dragged screaming to have it'

Nola Lister finds it hard to understand all the fuss over electroconvulsive treatment.

Glass eye auctioned for cancer

A Kiwi man is giving his right eye, literally, to raise funds for a terminally-ill boy.

Woman dies after cancer goes untreated

A month before Elizabeth Howan died of bowel cancer, doctors were telling her the ongoing chronic pains she suffered were in her head.

Disabled teen's family sue Queensland Government

A Kiwi couple are suing Queensland's government for discriminating against their disabled daughter.

Kiwi research lifts hopes

MICHELLE ROBINSON - © Fairfax NZ News

Ground-breaking New Zealand research could lower the death toll of women hit by pre-eclampsia.

Kiwis at edge of brain study

LOIS CAIRNS - © Fairfax NZ News

A blood test aimed at the early detection of Alzheimer's disease is being developed by researchers at the University of Otago.

Knife jobs on rise to help boost careers

Middle-aged Kiwis are lining up for plastic surgery to compete in the workplace.

Good and bad in kids' fitness

MARIKA HILL - © Fairfax NZ News

Toddler treadmills are part of a booming exercise industry aimed at children.

Vitamin therapy fails to deliver for Sir Paul

Sir Paul Callaghan says there is "no evidence" his vitamin-C cancer treatment worked.

40-year beard shaved to fight cancer

Jim Smyth has been hiding something for nearly 40 years.

'Social pressure' to stop Auckland smokers

Auckland Council would rely on social pressure to stop smokers from lighting up in public spaces should a ban be introduced, councillor Sandra Coney says.

Boy, 9, seeks to join US medical trial

An Auckland boy needs $100,000 to take part in a medical trial that could change his life.

Kiwi role in advance on new meningitis vaccine

Research that drew on NZ's meningococcal B vaccine campaign is being hailed as a breakthrough in the fight against the disease.

Family seeks $100k to support sick son

An Auckland boy needs $100,000 to take part in a medical trial that could change his life.

Government's health targets approach 'flawed'

The Government has announced updates to its key health targets, but the Medical Association says they are "narrow and simplistic".

Mexican tripping weed may help to wean addicts

Mexican tripping weed could provide an unlikely answer to helping methamphetamine users wean themselves off addictive drugs, Victoria University researchers say.