Karen Brown
Cancer patient’s wife tells government it’s ‘failed’ NZ
The wife of a terminally ill cancer patient says the government has failed her husband - and many others - by not having an adequate cancer plan. Melissa Vining was speaking at a cancer conference in… Video, Audio
Junior doctors to meet with bosses in bid to avoid strike
Warring junior doctors and their bosses will meet next week for more talks to avert yet more strikes. The doctors are in the midst of their second 48 hour strike at public hospitals. The action is… Audio
Doctors threaten further strike action
Junior doctors are threatening to keep striking throughout February unless hospitals back down in their employment row. The doctors walked off wards again today at the beginning of their second… Audio
Junior doctors' strike 'all about rosters' - analysis
Junior doctors in public hospitals will walk off the wards again next Tuesday and Wednesday in their fight for more pay and safer rosters. Last-ditch mediation talks failed on Thursday. They are set… Audio
24 doctors prescribed own drugs in last two decades
Only 24 doctors in the last two decades have faced disciplinary action for inappropariately prescribing drugs. An Auckland University research found that most doctors who faced disciplinary action… Audio
Junior doctors take to streets demanding safer working hours
Striking junior doctors took to the streets today to protect safer working hours for them in public hospitals. About three thousand junior doctors began a two-day strike this morning in a battle with… Audio
Why are junior doctors on strike?
Around three thousand Resident Medical Officers walked off wards in public hospitals throughout the country at 7 o'clock this morning, they won't return till the same time on Thursday morning… Audio
Family tells govt it must aim for zero suicides a year
A family whose son took his own life after walking out of a mental health unit finally got the chance today to tell the government what's wrong with the sector. Audio
Funded hepatitis C drug will treat and cure disease
Tens of thousands of people who've either been diagnosed with hepatitis C or suspect they may have it are being urged to see their family doctor. That's because for the first time, a drug is being… Audio
Two unions representing doctors boycot meeting
The two major unions representing hospital doctors are today boycotting a meeting about problems facing the medical workforce nationwide. The Medical Workforce Workshop has been called by the Health… Audio
Mental health services, library merge proving successful combination
Putting child health services, including mental health, inside a public library in Rotorua has helped normalise services, while the library has blossomed, Lakes District Health Board says. Audio
Parents want MenW vaccines for kids, but supplies are dry
Family doctors have run out of supplies of a meningitis vaccine amid rising worry about the nasty meningococcal W strain in Northland. Health Correspondent Karen Brown reports. Audio
Govt mental health inquiry to be presented
A government-ordered inquiry into mental health and addiction will present its report to the government on Wednesday. The panel, headed by a former health watchdog, Ron Paterson, began its work in… Audio
Meningitis vaccine for Northland - analysis
Health officials are not recommending vacinnations against a deadly strain of meningitis nationwide. In Northland they are gearing up to vaccinate 20,000 children and teenagers before Christmas. It's… Audio
Midwives begin rolling strike action, demanding better recognition
Hospital midwives have started the first of nationwide rolling stoppages, taking to the streets in Waikato to demand better recognition for their vital role. Video, Audio
Tongue-tie surgery rise 'concerning' - dentists
Dentists say they've noticed a big increase in hotly debated tongue-tie surgery in babies and it's worrying. A Wellington anaesthetist, Graham Sharpe, is calling for urgent action over the surgery… Audio
Tongue-tie surgery on babies 'potentially dangerous'
A common practice of cutting tongue-tied babies is being labelled painful, frequently unnecessary and potentially dangerous. Thousands of newborns are thought to have the surgery every year and… Audio
Junior doctors threaten more strikes in 2019
Junior doctors are threatening more strikes early next year because of a deal done by the DHBs with a new rival union. In a first for district health boards, they've agreed to different terms and… Audio
Meningoccocal vaccination focused on Northland
RNZ health correspondent Karen Brown talks to Philippa Tolley about the likelihood of a meningoccocal vaccine roll-out across New Zealand. Audio
Antidepressant use in NZ rises
New Zealanders are continuing to use more antidepressants but there is no sign it's improving mental health. That's the conclusion of Otago University research published in the New Zealand Medical… Audio