Stories by Ruth Hill

Clinicians say post-mortem scanning could save babies' lives in future - but it is not an option in many regions.

Te Whatu Ora is setting out to woo more overseas-trained specialists to move to New Zealand by targeting international medical conferences, using local clinicians to do the sweet-talking.

Acute shortages of trainee specialists are fuelling burnout among senior hospital doctors, whose own ranks are thinning. Audio

The "accountability-free" funding for general practice is fuelling the decline in GP work hours and the significant decrease in the GP-to-population ratio, according to new report.

The College of GPs president says it's distressing for practices already struggling to keep nurses that the gap with hospital nurses has widened again.

A group of doctors and researchers argue screening should start at 45 for the general population and 40 for Māori and Pasifika.

Waiting is a way of life for Kylee Ostermann and her 11-year-old son Alex, who has multiple disabilities. Audio

The university reported an $8.8 million deficit last year. It said there were no current proposals to close the degree programme for therapists but described it as "unsustainable". Audio

It has been a winter from hell for Lower Hutt mother "Jane", whose four children have had Covid, RSV and two strains of the flu since mid May.

Ophthalmologists say work on national treatment guidelines has been caught up in red tape. Audio

It may take a village to raise a child - but it needs a whole lot of "aunties" to grow a new generation of midwives.

Some midwifery students have told RNZ the workload and conditions have caused them to rethink their career choice.

But GPs warn many others are not even counted in the official figures from Te Whatu Ora.

The head of the government agency taking over monitoring of Oranga Tamariki from the Children's Commissioner insists it will do a thorough and transparent job.

From next month, oversight of Oranga Tamariki shifts from the Office of the Children's Commissioner to a government monitor.

The sheer scale of the problem might only be solved by joining up with Australia, Martin Brook fears.

Some cancer patients struggling with the cost of travel are making the difficult decision not to have treatment. Audio

Publicly available health data on wait times for emergency departments, operations and cancer treatment are now six months out of date.

Spinal muscular atrophy is the most common genetic cause of death in babies without treatment - but it is not included in the newborn screening programme.

The equivalent of nine ambulances a day are unable to respond to callouts because they are stuck outside emergency departments, waiting to drop off patients. Audio

Nearly 30,000 patients waiting for elective operations are about to receive letters from Te Whatu Ora asking if they still need surgery.

Some of the country's biggest hospices are warning they will have to cut some services, if they do not get an urgent cash injection from the government.

Ethan Hallett was reduced to being a "dead-eyed zombie" during his three-and-a-half month "incarceration" in Waitakere Hospital, his mother says.

Two severely disabled people in residential care were sent home from hospital still seriously ill, with one readmitted within 24 hours, later dying in hospital.

Aged care providers warn the shortage of rest home beds is leading to longer wait times for elective surgery, over-crowded emergency departments and other pressures on the health system.