health Archive

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  It’s official: Bicycling can save your life - by Kevin Hague

  
  
  
  The highly esteemed British Medical Journal has found, after an extensive study, that cycling literally saves lives. The research looked at the differences in health benefits of using a bicycle sharing scheme run in Barcelona compared with travel by a car in an urban environment. The results were clear: public bicycle sharing schemes can improve [...] read more
  October 20, 2011 10:02 am - 4 Comments
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  Happy International Nurses Day - by Kevin Hague

  
  
  
  Happy International Nurses Day to all nurses in New Zealand. And happy birthday Florence Nightingale, whose influence on the nursing profession was profound, and who would have been 191 today. The theme of International Nurses Day 2011 is increasing access and equity, and it is particularly timely. Next week’s budget will see cuts across a [...] read more
  May 12, 2011 1:20 am - 10 Comments
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  Community-led development – good news from the grassroots! - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  I had two very positive days last week meeting with community sector groups in Porirua and in Nelson. It was great to hear some positive stories from people who are leading change in these places, and to realise how much great work is going on despite the recession, the Government and the hard times since the earthquake. read more
  March 21, 2011 2:10 pm - 3 Comments
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  Submit on the Alcohol Reform Bill - by frog

  
  
  
  Until Friday we have a unique opportunity to help change New Zealand’s heavy drinking culture. At the moment the Justice and Electoral Select Committee is taking submissions on the Alcohol Reform Bill. The Bill is a very very very small itsy bitsy step in the right direction, but it does not go anywhere near as [...] read more
  February 14, 2011 9:37 am - 4 Comments
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  Cellphone towers, health and democracy - by Russel Norman

  
  
  
  Hataitai I went to a hastily organised public meeting up the hill from my house last night about a proposed cellphone tower in Hataitai, Wellington. Vodafone want to put a cellphone tower on top of a street light pole among a bunch of houses near the school. Vodafone only notified two local residents, and they in [...] read more
  December 14, 2010 8:47 pm - 126 Comments
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  Youth Health services at risk - by Kevin Hague

  
  
  
  Yesterday the Health Select Committee heard a briefing from the Ministry of Health in response to the petition of Jacinda Ardern and others seeking to safeguard youth one stop shops. These Youth One Stop Shops have mostly grown up in the health sector from the ground up, where needs have been expressed from young people [...] read more
  August 19, 2010 10:41 am - 10 Comments
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  Toxic baby bottle battle - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  Bisphenol A(BPA) is a chemical added to plastics to make them stronger. It is used in baby bottles, feeding cups, packaging for baby food and the packaging of other foods. Emerging research indicates that the leaching from plastic containing BPA can have serious negative health effects. read more
  July 3, 2010 12:24 pm - 2 Comments
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  Government fudges Health budget cuts, has no clue on child health - by Kevin Hague

  
  
  
  I’ve had two opportunities to question Tony Ryall today about priorities in the health sector, and his answers reveal a real mastery of evasion and obfuscation but little or no grasp of what is genuinely important in health. First up was his appearance before the Health Select Committee to answer questions about the Budget (although [...] read more
  June 16, 2010 5:33 pm - 30 Comments
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  Cuba’s health care system - by frog

  
  
  
  Here is something interesting to think about – a press release from the Cuban Embassy about their Health System. What Cuba Can Teach Us About Health Care Just a morning’s boat ride from the tip of Florida is a place where medical costs are low and doctors plentiful. It’s Cuba – and Stanford University physician Paul [...] read more
  May 7, 2010 10:33 am - 51 Comments
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  Inequality in Aotearoa: Life expectancy - by Metiria Turei

  
  
  
  In the pursuit of happiness there is one essential thing you need: good health. There are many contributing factors to good health and there are also many indicators to measure if you are healthy. Over the next few posts I’ll explore a few of these indicators. This post is focussed on life expectancy. Terminal problem [...] read more
  April 12, 2010 4:55 pm - 33 Comments
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  Jandal Danger a potential Public Health Catastrophe - by frog

  
  
  
  Based on new scientific research, the Green Party is calling on Kiwis to go barefoot rather than wear jandals. “Unfortunately jandals are really bad for your feet, legs and back. The answer is to lose the shoes altogether,” Green Party co-leader and podiatry spokesperson Metiria Turei said today. “I’m a jandal lover like a lot [...] read more
  April 1, 2010 10:51 am - 2 Comments
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  Podcast: Natural health – a new direction - by frog

  
  
  
  On Friday the Green and National Parties released a proposal to establish a new stand-alone New Zealand regulator for natural health products. Green Party Health Spokesperson Sue Kedgley has been collaborating with Health Minister Tony Ryall and Associate Health Minister Jonathan Coleman on the proposal. This work is part of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) [...] read more
  March 22, 2010 10:29 am - 4 Comments
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  Raising the driving age? - by frog

  
  
  
  A Herald survey of 2,300 people has shown that 80% favour raising the driving age to 18. It’s hard to work out how representative that survey truly is but 80% seems unbelievably high. Raising the age to 18 would be a huge step up from the current age of 15. It’s more likely the government [...] read more
  January 11, 2010 9:58 am - 34 Comments
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  Cell towers keep appearing without consultation - by Sue Kedgley

  
  
  
  Every week someone contacts me about an unwanted cell tower, mast or antennae, that are being erected near to where they live. Last week I got a call from a woman in Herne Bay, Auckland – who had discovered that a cell phone mast was about to be erected on a telephone pole outside her [...] read more
  November 30, 2009 3:50 pm - 11 Comments
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  What’s in a number? - by Kevin Hague

  
  
  
  For those working in the health sector a general election tends to bring a frisson of apprehension: will the positive momentum built with the current structure be, as usual, swept away by the political wind of structural change? The Minister’s “razor gang” review of the health sector recommends splitting the Ministry of Health in two [...] read more
  September 27, 2009 9:00 am - 2 Comments
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  Labtests problems no surprise - by Kevin Hague

  
  
  
  One of the issues dominating newspaper headlines over the past several weeks has been the performance of Labtests, the new provider of medical laboratory services in the Auckland region. We’ve heard about long waiting times for tests, long waiting times for urgent lab test results, difficulties in accessing testing facilities and errors in tests conducted [...] read more
  September 24, 2009 1:41 pm - 3 Comments
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  Primary Health Care must be a priority - by Kevin Hague

  
  
  
  The Government’s announcement that they are moving to achieve the unrealised goals of the Primary Health Care Strategy needs to be taken with a grain of salt. So far the National Government has virtually ignored primary health and in some areas actively undermined it – so while  it would normally be great news to hear [...] read more
  September 4, 2009 12:28 pm - 28 Comments
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  Don’t shoot the messenger - by Kevin Hague

  
  
  
  National’s tactics in the House this week, first from Health Minister Tony Ryall, and then from his Associate-Minister Jonathan Coleman (acting in Ryall’s absence) were to attempt to divert attention away from my questions about their privatisation agenda in Health by attacking the questioner (me). ‘Shooting the messenger’ is a classic case of the kind [...] read more
  July 30, 2009 2:34 pm - 15 Comments
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  Outsourcing Health No Solution - by Kevin Hague

  
  
  
  While the Government intends to increase DHB contracting with the private sector, we should instead first assess what capacity we have in the public sector; with proper logistics planning the public hospitals can do more work. Neither the Minister of Health nor the Ministry of Health has been able, under questioning at the Health Select [...] read more
  July 25, 2009 9:00 am - 58 Comments
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  No will in NZ to phase out wonky flouro food - by frog

  
  
  
  Last night TV3’s 60 minute program looked at the issue of food colourings and whether or not they affect children’s behaviour. While the experiments used in the item were not scientific the research that prompted the kiwi journalists to highlight this issue caused shockwaves when it was released in the United Kingdom in 2007. The [...] read more
  June 30, 2009 2:27 pm - 12 Comments