ASMS

Health infrastructure investment part of much-needed catch-up The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists is pleased to see the government committing to much-needed investment in health infrastructure, with many facilities and hospitals running at breaking point. The government has today announced $300 million of capital investment to be spread across child and maternal health, mental health and addiction, regional and rural service projects and upgrading and fixing ageing hospital facilities. ASMS, which represents senior doctors and dentists, says there has been …

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Peter Davis makes a number of salient points about DHBs and public health in his opinion piece (‘Loss-making DHBs need a serious re-set’ Jan 9) and it was heartening to see a new board member from the country’s largest DHB speaking up. His article stresses the need for DHBs to maximise the benefits they provide to the community – and rightly so.  However he underplays the bare-faced reality of a public health system in which DHB running costs far outstrip …

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Hollow words about coping and resilience are not only patronising but make doctors who face unsustainable pressures feel it is their fault if they are struggling, says emergency medicine consultant Shewli Rahman. I arrived for my on-call, parked, sat in my car and realised I couldn’t get out. This wasn’t a bad day, bad week, or even a bad month. I simply didn’t want to be a doctor any more. I wanted it all to stop. I had been an …

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The NZ Herald reveals serious hospital infrastructure issues across the country, including cramped, leaky and outdated buildings, old wiring that poses a fire hazard, not enough theatre space and a lack of equipment to help transfer vulnerable newborns.  It says they are a major risk to the treatment and safety of patients.  Highlights ASMS’ Hospitals on the Edge report. Read here

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Reports that DHB deficits are set to blow out even further this year are yet more proof that underfunding is bringing hospitals to their knees, says the new Executive Director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, Sarah Dalton. A New Zealand Herald report – “Sheer Incompetence: DHBs continue financial nosedive” – says new figures from the Ministry of Health show the financial situation for DHBs is continuing to deteriorate and the overall DHB deficit is expected to rise …

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Ngā mihi o te tau hou I hope those of you who were able to take a holiday over the Christmas/New Year period enjoyed the break and managed to find some good weather. For those of you who had to work through, I hope you can take much-needed time-off over the summer or later in the year. We are all back on deck at ASMS and there are a few things we wanted to share with you ahead of what …

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The Australian Medical Association says the findings of new bushfire smoke research will provide people with better knowledge of prevention measures and empower doctors with better clinical solutions to care for communities affected by future extreme bushfires and other air quality emergencies. Australia’s Health Minister, Greg Hunt, has announced $5 million funding for research into both the physiological and mental health impacts of prolonged exposure to bushfire smoke on people and whole communities after weeks of warnings about air quality. …

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After 30 years in the medical profession, Ruth Large is still being asked is she’s the doctor. Large is an emergency physician working at both Thames and Waikato hospital, she also works as clinical director of information services at Waikato DHB. She’s got a clinical role in a small rural hospital which she loves, a role in a big emergency department, and the rest of her time is spent looking at digital health care delivery. Decades on, recent reports have shown disparities …

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Emergency department workers at Hutt Hospital say they are being kept in the dark over a report concerning an incident in which four staff were bashed. More than 40 nurses and doctors have signed a letter calling on the Hutt Valley District Health Board to release the findings of the independent report completed last year. Staff  say the letter has gone unanswered since August. Read story here    

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Overseas visitors have racked up millions of dollars in treatment bills in New Zealand hospitals over the past five years – only a portion of which is likely to have been recovered.  Healthcare provided to ineligible patients included emergency department admissions, outpatient appointments and acute inpatient admissions for a range of conditions. Read more

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