Stories by Karen Brown
News
'There's a whole lot of reasons why I'd like to keep my eyesight'
Government funding for an eye disease drug has decreased wait times and the cost of treatment, an eye specialist says. Audio
Young patients’ long wait for bowel cancer - study
Young patients with bowel cancer are waiting too long to be diagnosed, research says.
NZ bowel screening plan benefits Pākehā more than Māori - cancer expert
The Ministry of Health is being urged to review a bowel cancer screening decision, to reduce health inequity.
Nurses' strike cost hundreds of thousands of dollars
Hospitals spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on the nationwide nurses' strike in July.
Patients waiting too long for bowel cancer diagnosis
Patients at nearly half the country's district health boards are waiting longer than they should for urgent tests to detect bowel cancer. Audio
Dying patients with rare chemo reaction paying for own drugs
Terminally ill patients who suffer a rare reaction to chemotherapy cannot get public funding for alternative drugs because their cases are not considered exceptional. Audio
Hundreds more doctors needed for new hospital rosters
An extra 300 junior hospital doctors are likely to be needed to staff new hospital rosters, at a cost of more than $35 million. Audio
Doctors warn new rosters wreck training, bad for patients
Recently introduced hospital rosters increase the risk of harm to patients and reduce vital opportunities for training, a rebel group of junior doctors warns.
DHBs struggle to meet colonoscopy wait-time targets
Hospitals are struggling to meet targets for delivering a key bowel cancer diagnostic test on time, a review of the national bowel screening programme found.
Jacinda Ardern and David Clark welcome nurse pay settlement
Jacinda Ardern and David Clark today welcomed the settlement between hospital nurses and their district health board employers. Video
Aged care nurses 'at breaking point'
District health boards say rest homes struggling to fill nursing vacancies are in a perfect storm.
Bowel cancer test kit a 'lifesaver'
Older New Zealanders who are still ineligible for a free bowel cancer screening are buying their own tests, but say they shouldn't be forced to pay thousands of dollars for specialist appointments as…
Doctors up for review on new website
People are being invited to compare, rate and review doctors and other healthcare providers on a new website.
Nurses' union, DHBs pledge more negotiations
Nurses and their employers today pledged to continue bargaining to find a way through their complex impasse over pay and staffing.
Nurses to vote on latest pay offer, strike action still possible
Nurses will vote today on the latest pay offer from their district health board employers. Audio
Ian Powell: 'It's fair to say that I've probably annoyed a lot of people'
The high-profile head of the senior doctors' union is to resign at the end of next year.
Rights breached after radiologist failed to detect cancer - HDC
A woman in her late 60s died following the failure of a radiologist to detect cancer on a CT scan.
Thousands of patients affected by bowel cancer screening error
A bowel cancer screening error affected 12,500 more people than earlier revealed, with 30 of them developing cancer.
No amount of apologies will give lost eyesight back - farmer
Kobe Brown lost vision in his right eye in September 2015 after waiting a year for a follow-up eye appointment that he should have received within six months.
Margaret Wilson to chair panel on nurses pay
Margaret Wilson has been named as the chair of the independent panel set up to resolve the impasse over nurses' pay.
Got the measles? Phone your doctor, stay home
Health authorities are urging anyone with measles symptoms to phone but not visit their family doctor.
Former, current Ministers had general warnings about Middlemore
District health boards in Auckland and Northland warned the current and former health ministers about the poor state of hospital buildings in the region.
Apology comes years after resthome resident assaulted
It's taken more than two years for health authorities to send an apology to the family of a man hit by a resthome worker.
Rest home worker who slapped patient may face further action
A rest home worker convicted of assaulting an elderly dementia patient may face further legal action.
DHBs post $189m deficit forecast, warning it could rise
Health officials are warning that district health board deficits could hit $225 million if nurses accept a proposed deal.