ASMS

Exclusive: In emails obtained by SBS News, senior Sydney obstetrician Dr Hans Peter Dietz told doctors the medical industry was “increasingly vulnerable because it’s increasingly female”. A senior doctor and member of the leadership council of the NSW medical union has been criticised for making controversial comments about women in medicine. The remarks by Dr Hans Peter Dietz, which were sent on a group email to about 35 people in the union’s committee, were made in response to a 

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The Medical Council is seeking feedback on its proposed Policy on publication of orders and directions, otherwise known as a ‘naming policy’.  The new policy outlines how the Council may publish the name of a doctor and the details of an order or direction made about that doctor under the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 (HPCAA). The need for the Council to develop this policy results from an amendment made by Parliament to the HPCAA earlier this year. The …

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It’s going to take time and strong leadership to overcome what the health minister calls the ‘postcode lottery’. Laura Walters reports on Aotearoa’s health inequity problem. Māori health is not just a Māori problem, IronMāori founder Heather Te Au Skipworth says. Speaking at the opening of the Ministry of Health annual forum in Wellington on Tuesday, the mother-of-three (Ngāti Kahu, Ngāti Kahungunu, Te Arawa, Ngāi Tahu) shared her experience of learning to address health challenges in a different way – one with …

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A hectic Labour Weekend in Taranaki’s emergency department saw one patient with pneumonia wait 26 hours in an ED bed before being admitted to a ward. The situation, which Taranaki District Health Board (TDHB) attributed to an unusually busy weekend in the emergency department (ED) and five staff calling in sick, prompted a medical professional to urge the patient and their family to lay a formal complaint. The patient, who didn’t want to be named, was told by the staff member that their stay …

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A scathing report by the health and disability commissioner into the urology service provided by the Southern District Health Board was released earlier this month. Patient C tells his story. Read here.

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Medical students and physicians are becoming so exposed to the science of medicine that they are forgetting the emotional needs of their patients, according to the new President of the World Medical Association. Dr. Miguel Jorge, in his inaugural Presidential speech at the WMA’s annual Assembly in Tbilisi, Georgia, said most of the students entering medical school did so because they said they wanted to help people who were suffering. But studies showed that when they left medical school, they were …

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The World Medical Association has reaffirmed its long-standing policy of opposition to euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. After an intensive process of consultation with physicians and non physicians around the world, the WMA at its annual Assembly in Tbilisi, Georgia, adopted a revised Declaration on Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide. This states: ‘The WMA reiterates its strong commitment to the principles of medical ethics and that utmost respect has to be maintained for human life. Therefore, the WMA is firmly opposed …

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A survey by the senior doctors’ union estimates the number of specialists at the Auckland District Health Board is 20% down on what’s needed to provide safe and appropriate care to patients. The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists has been looking at senior doctor staffing levels across DHBs since 2016 by surveying clinical leaders in hospital departments. The aim is to assess how many full-time specialist positions are needed to provide quality and timely treatment for patients. The Auckland DHB …

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Staff shortages and the rising number of ill patients has lead to an increased activation of “code red” in hospitals, a health union boss says. “Code red” can be activated when hospitals have full beds and elective surgeries have to be cancelled in order to treat people with urgent needs. On Wednesday, the Wairarapa District Health Board (DHB) declared a “code red” at its hospital in Masterton for the second time this month. Executive director of Association of Salaried Medical …

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The Southern District Health Board has been slammed for its poor treatment and care of urology patients in a new report from the Health and Disability Commissioner. The problems in urology service likely cut the life expectancy of one man who now has secondary cancer. On Monday the DHB chief executive Chris Fleming told Checkpoint he is proud of the improvements being made. But there are still of 100 people waiting longer than the recommended Ministry of Health guidelines for their operation …

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